LEGAL action ought to be a solution of last resort to any sort of civil dispute.

It is certain to damage the relationship and the bank balance of at least one, if not both, of the parties. In the case of the train operator Virgin Rail and Network Rail, provider of the track and infrastructure, court action will also impact on the taxpayer and the rail traveller.

Virgin Trains believes that poor punctuality on the West Coast Main Line is deterring travellers from taking the train. The company says more than 70% of delays are the fault of Network Rail (NR) and is taking legal action against the infrastructure company.

Network Rail defends its poor performance by pointing out that this is the busiest mixed-use line in Europe, with twice as many trains as a decade ago and, if something goes wrong, the knock-on effects can be significant.

This is not a new problem. Poor punctuality on the route led to Virgin Trains' chief operating officer Chris Gibb being seconded to NR to examine infrastructure failures at first hand. All the recommendations in his subsequent report were accepted by the network which has identified almost £40 million of improvements to alleviate the most common causes of delay. Positive as this is, it must be seen against the wider financial background of NR's dependence on the taxpayer. The infrastructure company's net debt rose by £3bn to £30.4bn in the year to April. Because the borrowing is backed by a Government guarantee, the bill for servicing the debt falls to the taxpayer in addition to the £3.5bn Government grant to the network.

With this level of public investment and above-inflation increases in many ticket prices, passengers have every right to expect an increase in punctuality and reliability. When delays and cancellations are deemed to amount to Network Rail breaching the conditions of its licence, the Office of Rail Regulation imposes multi-million pound fines. When the root problem is a historic lack of investment resulting in a need for major upgrading of the infrastructure, this is unhelpful. A fine, which is paid to the Treasury, serves only to compound the problem by reducing the funds available for investment. There is an obvious logic to the call by Virgin Rail Group chief executive Tony Collins for penalties levied on NR to be in the form of committing resources to making direct improvements for customers.

Network Rail faces an enormous task. Its debt burden has jumped because it is spending £14 million a day on tracks and other improvements. The travelling public should eventually reap the benefit but train operators which agree a contract with NR must be able to enforce it. With so many delays and continuing problems, this was the wrong time to hand out bonuses worth more than £350,000 to five directors. Network Rail's reliance on public funds ought to make it risk-averse, mindful that, if things go wrong, the taxpayer takes the hit. Improvement is needed in the boardroom as well as on the track.