Network Rail - the organisation that operates the UK's railways - has been told it must slash its spending by £2 billion over the next five years.

However, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) insisted the company must still improve the punctuality of services between 2014 and 2019 in spite of the significant cutbacks.

Network Rail has been criticised for failing to meet its latest reliability targets and must now ensure 90 per cent of trains run on time by 2019. To make this challenge even more difficult, the firm must factor in a predicted 14 per cent rise in commuters over the five-year period.

Recent figures suggested the organisation spent the equivalent of £14 million every day on infrastructure upgrades in the 2012-13 financial year, amounting to £5 billion in total.

A spokesperson for Network Rail welcomed the ORR's draft budget determination and suggested the body would scrutinise the proposals before issuing a formal response in September.

"Getting the balance right in making the choices between performance, growth and value for money is critical," they commented.