Railtrack has stepped up its nationwide track repair offensive, taking advantage of the quieter Easter holiday period to stay on target for a full summer timetable, by May.

Thousands of contractors will be replacing miles of track and sets of points this weekend, to further reduce journey times, including a number in the North-East and North Yorkshire.

Railtrack chiefs expect the Easter work programme to increase the current 90 per cent of normal timetabled services, already restored after the Hatfield crash, to more than 95 per cent.

Programmes during the Easter break include work on the East Coast main line, near Leeds and Newcastle, West Coast main line, near Manchester, Great Western main line, near Plymouth, Cardiff and Bristol, Great Eastern main line, near Stratford and Bethnal Green, east London, and on the Chiltern lines, between Banbury, Oxfordshire and Leamington, Warwickshire.

Railtrack said the work had been planned to avoid the busiest days of the Easter period, including yesterday and Easter Monday.

The company said it hoped that a full summer timetable would be introduced on May 21.

Today and Easter Sunday are expected to be the busiest repair days, according to the company. Railtrack said that train operators were making extensive alternative travel arrangements, where necessary, to ensure that passengers were not inconvenienced.

A spokesman for Railtrack said yesterday: "Good progress is being made on restoring the network to normal timetable.

"People travelling during this holiday period will see a marked improvement in the number of trains running and improved journey times."

Engineering teams have relaid more than 440 miles of rail, replaced more than 840 sets of points and removed 970 speed restrictions, since last October's accident, which killed four people.

"There is still more to do and this push over Easter will remove more speed restrictions, replace more rail and points and most importantly allow a return to normal timetables," the spokesman said.