The point about the state of the rail network here is that it is incapable of meeting current demand at a time when the roads (up here, don't know about London generally, but the M25 has some bad times too) is approaching gridlock.
One of the main ways you can see the rail network is performing better in other parts of Europe is simply that the road network has not been pushed to such a brink (generally) because rail is an effective alternative.
A new stretch of motorway typically costs between two and five times as much as an equivalent rail link. But according to the Treasury, rail is 'too expensive.'
In most countries this would be considered corruption and would be investigated by the General Accounting Office.
