The railway white paper will set targets for punctuality and capacity for Network Rail and announce how much money the company will get to do this. Network Rail has asked for £21bn for day-to-day running and another £7-8bn for improvements, including upgrading the London Thameslink route, a major refit of Birmingham New Street station, and new train carriages and longer platforms on crowded commuter routes.

It will also set out a 30-year plan with more ambitious ideas, including a new signalling system so trains can be timetabled closer together, new train fleets, some of which could be powered by biofuels, and tram-trains.

However a draft of part of the white paper, seen by The Observer, suggested other ways to relieve crowding could include removing seats and increasing fares in the 'shoulders' just before and after peak times, to encourage some commuters to travel earlier or later.

The plan could also disappoint campaigners hoping for a firm commitment to major schemes, including new north-south passenger and freight routes, and funding for an east-west Crossrail project under London. There is also cynicism about how much will change, after numerous Labour promises of similar improvements in the past.