Media centre

Monday 11 Oct 2010

PASSENGER NUMBERS IN LIVERPOOL SET TO SOAR

Region & Route:

The number of passengers using rail in Liverpool is set to soar over the next ten and twenty years, according to a new report published today by Network Rail. 

A 32% rise by 2019 could see hundreds of thousands more people a year arriving in Liverpool at peak times, according to the operator and maintainer of Britain’s rail network.

The report makes a series of recommendations for targeted investment in the railways of the north which are needed to cope with the extra passengers and will support sustainable economic growth.

The report, the draft Northern Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS), looks at rail usage over the next ten to twenty years and recommends how best to cope with the extra passengers and freight.

Paul Plummer, Network Rail’s director of planning and development, said: “Rail in the north is a major success story – but this brings its own challenges, as our draft RUS sets out. 

“The railways of Merseyside are nearly full and our report shows that many more people will be travelling on trains in the north in ten and twenty years time.

“Infrastructure investment is key to sustainable economic growth. 

“With businesses and commuters in the north relying on rail and so many more people choosing to travel by train, continued investment in rail in the north is a necessity, not a luxury.”

Richard Martin, chairman of the transport committee at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said:

“The business case for the Northern Hub is irrefutable. Each Pound spent on improving rail services in the North will generate £4 Pounds of added benefit to the economy.

“The cost, congestion and environmental benefits of rail for freight haulage are also important, since one train of freight is equivalent to fifty lorries on the road.

“My committee has recently emphasised this priority to the Government and will continue to do so through future submissions to MPs and Ministers.”

The number of passengers travelling into the major towns and cities of the north is predicted in the RUS to grow significantly over the next ten and twenty years.

The growth at peak time could be as high as set out in the following table:

City

2014

2019

2024

2029

Leeds

20%

42%

53%

68%

Liverpool

13%

32%

46%

63%

Manchester

21%

44%

57%

72%

Newcastle

21%

37%

49%

62%

Sheffield

15%

35%

48%

62%

Network Rail is proposing a number of projects to help meet this demand, including:

• The Northern Hub – which would allow 3.5million more passengers to travel across the North every year.
• New platforms at Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester Airport stations.
• Upgrading the freight lines between Immingham, Scunthorpe and Knottingley.
• A rolling programme of electrification including the Midland Mainline between Sheffield and London St Pancras International

Network Rail is consulting on the RUS and will publish a final version in May next year.