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Tuesday 3 Apr 2007

SCOTLAND TO BENEFIT FROM £2.4 BILLION UK RAIL EXPANSION

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Scotland will benefit to the tune of more than £300million from a £2.4bn programme of rail expansion unveiled by Network Rail today as it outlined its spending plans over the next two years. Across the UK, hundreds of platforms will be lengthened, dozens of new platforms added, new lines built, line speeds raised and capacity added through major resignalling schemes. These Network Rail financed schemes are in addition to major third party projects. In Scotland, work on the Airdrie-Bathgate rail link, Waverley station upgrade, Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line and Gretna to Annan double-tracking will result in new services, increased capacity and improved journey times. 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 what Network Rail is doing to respond to those demands. "Three million people are using 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 overcrowding. "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. David Simpson, Network Rail's Route Director, Scotland commented: "Our Scottish focus over the next two years, in conjunction with our rail industry partners, is to deliver the major projects to which we have previously committed. Waverley station and Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine works are progressing extremely well, while Airdrie-Bathgate's recent advancement through the Scottish Parliament will mean that we can begin work imminently. "In addition to these major enhancements, Scotland will also benefit from improvements to the East Coast and West Coast main lines and our national rail communications system which will help improve safety and reliability across the entire rail network." Network Rail is working on over 900 individual schemes. Here are just some examples of the schemes that will be delivered or will get underway over the next two years: (in alphabetical order): Scheme description - spend profile over next 2yrs (total value)

• Airdrie to Bathgate new line: GBP 214million (GBP 300million)
• Brigg line - freight capacity enhancements: 9m (9m)
• Bristol Parkway new platforms: 10m (10m)
• East Midlands Parkway new station: 24m (24m)
• Grays platform extension - 3m (3m)
• King's Cross extra platform - 15m (15m)
• Manchester airport new platforms: 15m (15m)
• Newport station new platform: 5m (5m)
• Olympic schemes - 109m (400m)
• Thameslink station at St Pancras International 78m (78m)
• Trent Valley track doubling scheme - 165m (300m)
• South Wales platform extensions (42 platforms) - 13m (14m)

ENDS