Network Rail has finished testing six new rescue trains that will be used to tow stricken locomotives in the south of England.

The Class 57/3 machines are powerful enough to drag a 12-carriage electric multiple unit and the driver will be able to operate the brakes of both trains together.

Mick Stewart, senior fleet engineer for the company's National Delivery Service, thinks the new trains will make it easier for blockages to be cleared from the line, thus ensuring rail services can run on time.

"We can now quickly move units that are stranded - for example, when the third rail network is disabled, if there's snow and ice, or where there's been a mechanical failure," he remarked.

The Class 57/3s - which are being leased to Network Rail - will primarily be used in Wessex, Sussex and Kent.

This is one of many initiatives launched by the company in order to improve the efficiency of the nation's rail infrastructure. 

Yesterday (June 6th), the organisation revealed it had spent £5 billion on network upgrades during the 2012-13 financial year.