Media centre

Tuesday 3 Apr 2007

NORTH WEST TO BENEFIT FROM £2.4 BILLION RAIL EXPANSION PROGRAMME

Region & Route:

A rail expansion programme of over £200 million for the North West was unveiled by Network Rail today as it outlined its spending plans over the next two years. The North West programme forms part of a bigger, two year, £2.4bn plan, to expand the railway. Hundreds of platforms will be lengthened, dozens of new platforms added, new lines built, 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 129 expansion schemes in the North West, with approximately 71% of the funding being provided by third parties. Here are just some examples of the schemes being delivered or that will get off the ground in the next two years: (in alphabetical order): Scheme description and amount to be spent over next 2yrs Anglo - Scottish coal signalling capacity improvements £6m Bootle Oriel Road £4m Buckshaw Village new station £4m Headbolt Lane - Kirby new station and line enhancements £4m Hellifield down loop extension £2m Manchester Airport third platform £15m Olive Mount Chord £8m Rainhill resignalling £1m Salford Central station (phase 1) £3m Sandhills station £4m Virgin West Coast stations car park extension scheme £62m Network Rail continues to take forward the massive infrastructure and enhancement projects that have yet to receive 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."