Media centre

Monday 31 Mar 2014

A better railway in the north west as Network Rail kicks off five-year investment programme

Region & Route:

Rail passengers in the north west of England can expect more trains, more seats, reduced congestion and improved stations as Network Rail today embarks on the largest national railway spending programme since Victorian times.

The ambitious five-year plan will see £38bn of investment being made across the network. On the London North Western route, which includes the north west region, over £5.5bn of maintenance and investment will be carried out to make a tangible improvement to people’s lives and provide a significant boost to the economy.

More than 1.5bn passenger journeys are made by rail each year, with around 146m taking place in the north west, a figure predicted to continue to grow year-on-year.

As part of the improvements, and to help meet the increasing number of passengers, more than 25,000 extra seats into Manchester, and nearly 7,000 extra seats into Liverpool, could be provided during the morning peak by 2019.

Rail Minister Stephen Hammond MP said: “I know the importance of the railways to the north west and am determined that passengers and businesses get the services they deserve. That is why we are putting record amounts of government funding into our railways over the next five years. Improved stations, massive electrification and better infrastructure through projects like the £600m Northern Hub and £400m North West Electrification Programme will deliver quicker, cleaner and more reliable journeys for passengers and drive forward our long-term economic plans. In addition, I will continue to push the industry to make sure they are delivering the electric trains that will make this transformation complete.”

Dyan Crowther, Network Rail’s route managing director, said: “It’s an important and exciting time for the railway, with significant levels of investment being made to meet the increasing demand of an ever-rising number of passengers.

“The railway is a vital part of the national infrastructure. It connects homes and workplaces, businesses with markets, creates jobs, stimulates trade and supports the growth of a balanced economy.

“Passenger numbers in recent years have grown far beyond predictions, so it’s vital that this investment over the next five years helps meet the increasing demand across the north west of England.

“Improved stations, more tracks and longer platforms, electric trains, reopened railway lines and fewer level crossings – all will help deliver more frequent, more comfortable, more reliable journeys and a safer railway for everyone.”

Across the London North Western route, around £2bn will be invested by Network Rail to provide improvements to tackle congestion, provide additional capacity for passengers and improve facilities at stations.

In the north west, between 2014 and 2019, work which will be completed includes:

• The £600m Northern Hub project which will upgrade stations and the infrastructure to provide better connectivity and faster journey times, particularly between Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds, contributing to an improved economy across the north of England.
• A £20m platform upgrade at Manchester Airport station will help to accommodate the increased capacity at the station provided by new direct rail services to the airport
• The £400m North West Electrification Programme will electrify more than 350km of railway to provide better services across the north west to Yorkshire and the north east of England
• The £44m redevelopment of Manchester Victoria station will transform it into a 21^st century gateway to the city
• A new Rail Operating Centre (ROC) in Manchester will come into operation later this year, one of 12 centres which will eventually operate the entire rail network across Britain. The signalling functions will be phased into the ROC throughout CP5
• The West Coast main line power supply upgrade will help to provide a more reliable service along the route between London and Glasgow, via Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and Manchester.
• The £250m Stafford Area Improvements Programme will deliver capacity and line speed improvements on the West Coast main line between Stafford and Crewe, the last upgrade before the WCML reaches full capacity
• The £81m Watford Area Renewals Programme will see nine miles of track relayed and a complete replacement of signalling between Kings Langley and Bushey to help boost reliability and improve performance on the WCML

Phil Whittingham, lead executive Virgin Trains, said: “Today’s announcement signals a massive investment in the railways over the next five years. This will benefit our passengers, as well as other users of the West Coast main line. We look forward to working with our Network Rail partners as they undertake the significant works necessary to deliver a bigger and more reliable railway in which we can all be proud.”

 

Nick Donovan, FTPE managing director, said: “The future of rail travel in the north of England really is an exciting one. There are huge levels of investment ongoing that will modernise and improve the railway for the benefit of customers.

"The Northern Hub and extensive electrification projects will mean greater journey choice and opportunity for all. The benefits are starting to be felt right now. FTPE is entering the final stages of delivering a £60m investment in new electric trains that will not only provide much needed additional capacity but will also enable a brand new timetable in May 2014 to deliver better rail services connecting many of the great cities and towns across the north of England and into Scotland.

"These step change improvements cannot be achieved by one party alone and it is testament to the collaborative working of train operators, infrastructure providers and business and political leaders that rail customers in the north now have a lot of positives to look forward to."

Alex Hynes, Northern Rail’s managing director, said: “The next five years will see substantial investment in rail in the region. With Northern continuing to operate services in the north for the next 22 months, this announcement is fantastic news for our growing customer numbers.”

 

Safety improvements at level crossings will continue, with a target of 200* crossings on the route to close by 2019, as part of a national programme to invest more than £100m to improve safety and reduce risk to passengers and the wider public.

The next five years will also see Network Rail committing itself to furthering its environmental sustainability and resilience in the face of extreme weather and changing climate. By September, a route-based climate change strategy, one of 10 nationally, will be published, setting out specific measures to be taken to mitigate the effects of severe weather and improve the railway’s long-term sustainability.

Network Rail is committed to making even more trains run on time. By 2019 it has agreed to deliver punctuality levels of 92.5% across England, Wales and Scotland while running more trains and carrying more people than ever before. Network Rail will also provide even better value for money for the British people, making savings of an extra 19% on top of the 27% achieved from 2004-9 and 15% from 2009-14.