AS rail bosses try to fathom out which comes first - safety or punctuality - passengers are left to suffer. Lines are being closed and trains cancelled. On the busiest routes, those services still running will become almost unbearably full.

Railtrack's closure of the West Coast line today was so sudden that hundreds of travellers were stranded. The abruptness of the decision implied that a major fault had been discovered. But that was quickly denied.

The three-day shutdown is a belt-and-braces exercise to ensure minor faults in the track pose no safety threat. London-bound Glasgow commuters are likely to decamp to the East Coast Main Line - on to already overcrowded trains.

In the volatile, post-Hatfield atmosphere passengers must expect more of this sort of thing. As Railtrack chief executive Gerald Corbett said today: "We are now going to have to blitz the network and run it for safety."

The result: total chaos. This shambles only proves what many have already realised - Railtrack has an impossible job. On the one hand it has a statutory duty to meet tough targets on train punctuality. On the other, it must ensure safety.

Before the Hatfield derailment, repairs were carried out while keeping the trains running as near to timetable as possible. Thus the repairs to the track at Hatfield were delayed for months.

Meanwhile, sub-contractors responsible for track maintenance were placed under great pressure to get the job done quickly and cheaply. Last night it was revealed that the firm involved in the Hatfield repairs, Balfour Beatty, had been criticised by Railtrack for its "appalling" workmanship at Leeds station.

Now that Mr Corbett has switched the emphasis from efficiency to safety, we can expect more track closures, more overcrowding and less reliability. The danger is that passengers will be forced from the trains on to already congested roads and will not return to rail travel.

The embattled Railtrack chief executive needs help, and quickly. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott must head a taskforce dedicated to returning some immediate sense of order to Britain's railways. Only then can we consider the long-term problems.