Hundreds of thousands of people are reported to have been delayed by flight cancellations and delays, caused by a technical problem at air traffic control yesterday. National Rail has announced that ticket restrictions are being eased, to help stranded airline passengers.

A new target for increasing rail freight has been published by the Government. The aim is to see the volume of freight carried by train to be increased by at least 40 per cent by 2040, and at least 75 per cent within the following ten years. It said the new targets were intended to give the industry confidence to invest.