Media centre

Tuesday 26 Jun 2007

RAIL INDUSTRY UNVEILS PLANS TO MEET PASSENGER GROWTH FOR EAST COAST MAIN LINE AND NORTH EAST

Region & Route:

More train services, power upgrades and facilities for longer trains are all proposed in a strategy for consultation for the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and north east routes by Network Rail this week. The ECML is one of the busiest and most successful railway lines in Britain, providing a vital north-south link for long distance services from London to Scotland via Yorkshire and Newcastle, as well as serving a number of important commuter routes into London, Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. A range of schemes and options have now been put forward by Network Rail to improve the route and meet rising passenger and freight demand as part of a consultation document, the ECML Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS). Also considered within the document are rail links within the north east region. It predicts that by 2016 demand for long-distance services could increase by up to 40 per cent, and on local services in the north east by up to 45 per cent. Network Rail’s Route Director for the ECML, Dyan Crowther, said: “Rising passenger demand on the vital East Coast route is excellent news for the industry, but it also presents us with a challenge as we seek to accommodate growing demand on what is already a busy route. “It is imperative that we have a robust plan in place to meet these challenges on the mainline and in the north east. The feedback we will get as part of the consultation process will play an important part in shaping the future of the routes in our region.” As a mixed use railway, the ECML accommodates a whole range of services, from local commuter routes to long-distance high speed services providing a vital link between towns and cities in Scotland and the north east of England to London. The RUS consultation lasts 12 weeks and, following consideration of any comments, the final document will be published later in the year. Options to be considered as part of the consultation include: · Increasing the number of Long Distance High Speed trains serving Kings Cross to six trains per hour, off-peak and eight trains per hour during the peak. · Construction of new platform at Kings Cross as part of the £400m regeneration for the station. · Enable train operators to run longer trains in the north east · Work to alleviate bottlenecks eg four-tracking of Holgate junction in York · Power upgrades to facilitate extra services · Providing additional capacity between Peterborough and Doncaster