Rail companies praised for dealing with extreme weather

The Transport Secretary has written to rail companies praising the "tireless work" to recover services during the recent extreme weather, but calling for better communication during disruption.

Chris Grayling said the "unprecedented" weather last week had caused disruption across the whole of the rail network.

In a letter to the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, he said: "Staff worked tirelessly to recover the services across the network, despite the difficult circumstances.

"In particular I know many front line staff were out in freezing conditions trying to either keep, or get services running.

"Their efforts on behalf of passengers are to be commended. One area where industry needs to take further action is around customer communications during disruption.

"There have been a number of instances which have come to my attention which do not reflect the high standard of communication passengers deserve."

Mr Grayling said he expected to see a focus on giving passengers better information when trains are cancelled.