Media centre

Tuesday 4 Apr 2006

DELAYS DOWN - BEST TRAIN PERFORMANCE FOR SIX YEARS

Region & Route:

INVESTING AND GROWING THE RAILWAY IN THE WEST MIDLANDS

On the back of a massive 30% reduction in delays since the creation of Network Rail, the company today announces details of it’s commitment to improving and growing the railway in its 2006 Business Plan. Network Rail Route Director Peter Strachan said: “We are setting out our ambitious agenda for growing the railway. And make no mistake – our plans are ambitious for a better-performing and more efficient rail network, meeting the aspirations of our customers.” Highlights of the 2006 Business Plan include:

• Fewer delays for passengers, more trains running on time. Despite the arson attacks in Autumn 2005, Network Rail delay minutes in the West Midlands are down by 20% in the last year, beating our targets. Points failures, signal failures and broken rails are all down while delays caused by leaves on the line fell by 35% last Autumn.

• Major investment in resignalling schemes which will reduce delays for passengers and increase capacity in the region:

- Leamington Corridor Resignalling Scheme - £75 million investment renewing the signalling between Birmingham (Tyseley) and Warwick on the Chiltern line. A new junction at Tyseley will increase the line speed from 20mph to 60mph reducing journey times and increasing capacity. - Coventry Resignalling Scheme - £45 million investment replacing the signalling in the Coventry area. Scheme will include an additional stretch of track between Coventry and Leamington to alleviate congestion at Coventry station and provide better train performance and route reliability.

• Better stations for passengers. Network Rail announced proposals to regenerate Birmingham New Street station earlier this year and we have worked to facilitate the plans for a new Parkway station at Coleshill. Improvements to access for passengers with disabilities at Kidderminster and Worcester Shrub Hill stations are also planned.

• More rail, sleepers and ballast are being renewed than ever before – in the West Midlands over 100 miles of new rail, 130 miles of ballast and 223 new sets of points will be replaced in the next 3 years.

Peter Strachan added: “In the last three years we have focussed on getting all the basics right: creating the right structure; improving performance; controlling and reducing costs; developing our people; and being safe in everything we do. “More people are using the railway than ever before and we are now looking forward, looking for new, innovative, and value for money ways to invest in and grow the railway to accommodate this increasing demand.”