The call comes from the Civil Engineering Contractors Association in response to the Rail Review, led by independent chair Keith Williams, for which an initial deadline for submitting evidence passed on Friday.

“The current siloed railway structure between track, train and project delivery has driven inefficient delivery of railway projects – leading to higher costs for rail users and taxpayers,” said CECA’s rail director Bill Free.

But the association highlights that some projects break this mould, with the most successful schemes, it claims, generally being supported by a collaborative relationship between operators, Network Rail and contractors.

It says recent examples of such projects include Waterloo station redevelopment as well as remodelling schemes at both Derby and Nottingham stations.

In these cases, a ‘rational balance’ between disrupting users and improving the infrastructure was achieved, with parallel information campaigns used to explain the works to users, the submission argues.

Bill Free added: “We commend the recent Rail Sector Deal and plans to roll out Digital Railway on the East Coast Mainline – which point the way to a true collaboration across all parties in the railway.”

Also responding to the Rail Review’s initial call for evidence, a return to public ownership of the railways is urged by campaigners backed by a petition of 120,000 passengers.

The petition, launched by pressure group ‘Bring Back British Rail’ and supported by ‘We Own It’, calls for “a rail service that prioritises people over profit”.

“Passengers want public ownership,” said Bring Back British Rail founder Ellie Harrison. “Anyone who travels on our railways knows from their own frustrating experiences – delays, cancellations and confusing and overpriced tickets – that privatisation has failed.

“It’s obvious that it makes no sense to have so many competing companies running different sections of our network, when what’s needed to make it work in passengers’ interests is cooperation.”

The Rail Review launched in December, with chairman Keith Williams asserting that all options will be on the table. A final report with recommendations for organisational and commercial reforms is expected to publish later this year.

(Photograph: Network Rail)