Media centre

Tuesday 3 Apr 2007

ANGLIA TO BENEFIT FROM £2.4 BILLION RAIL EXPANSION PROGRAMME

Region & Route:

Eastern: Anglia

| Eastern

A £2.4bn programme of rail expansion was unveiled by Network Rail today as it outlined its spending plans over the next two years with more than £150m being spent in the Anglia region. Hundreds of platforms will be lengthened, new platforms added, new tracks laid, line speeds raised and capacity added through major resignalling schemes.

Unveiling the plans, Network Rail's Chief Executive, John Armitt, said: "The railway is thriving. Demand for rail continues to grow and today's news outlines Network Rail's response to those demands. "Three million people use the railways each day, more than at any time in the past 60 years, and we're not standing still waiting for the big infrastructure projects to be delivered. We are doing something about it now by moving forward with hundreds of small schemes dotted around the country that will add capacity and ease crowding. "For the first time on record, over £1bn per year will be spent on expanding and growing the railway network. This, more than anything, shows how the needs of today's railway are shifting. We will never lose sight of the imperative to run a safe and reliable railway each and every day, but responding to the challenge of growth becomes a more important priority for the company." Over the next two years Network Rail is more than doubling the average annual investment on enhancement schemes - over £1.2bn per year. Not since well before privatisation (British Rail did not record enhancement spending) has so much money been invested in expanding the capacity of the network. Over the past 12 years, annual average spending on such schemes has been around £500m. Between April 2007 and March 2009, Network Rail will carry out £2.44bn worth of enhancement work with £1.73bn funded by Network Rail. The remaining £713m will be financed by other stakeholders, such as the Department for Transport, Transport Scotland, Welsh Assembly Government, Passenger Transport Executives, local authorities, port authorities train operators and freight groups. Network Rail is working on over 900 individual schemes. Here are just some examples of the schemes in the Anglia region that will be delivered or will get underway over the next two years: (in alphabetical order): Figures in brackets are current Network Rail spend profile value over next 2yrs.

• Colchester-Clacton re-signalling delivering more reliable journeys (£50.1m)
• Grays - extension of bay platform summer 2008 - to permit longer trains on Tilbury Loop services (£2.9m)
• Ipswich to Ely W10 Gauge clearance which will provide an alternate route for large freight containers (£4.7m)
• Liverpool St to Chelmsford - Renewal and improvement to the overhead lines (£50.1m)
• Marks Tey-Colchester bi-directional signalling - to facilitate improved performance and maintenance (£3m)
• North London (Barking, Hampstead, Willesden) W10 gauge clearance - to provide a second cross-London route for big maritime containers (£15m)
• Norwich - additional siding electrification to enable extra train service capacity to London in the peaks (£0.2m)
• Stratford - lengthening of platform 10A and freight loop to enable more peak hours trains to call at Stratford and facilitate movement of freight through the Stratford area. (£1.5m)
• Witham station second entrance (£0.78m)

Network Rail continues to take forward the massive infrastructure and enhancement projects that have yet to recieve full funding approval. The Thameslink upgrade programme remains a key priority with work also continuing on redevelopment plans for Birmingham New Street and Reading. Mr Armitt concluded: "We are taking action now to expand the rail network and help relieve crowding on the network. But we want to do even more and will be outlining in the autumn our longer term plans for even more growth and expansion on Britain's thriving railway."