London-
London needs a healthy, effective railway for our passengers, business and the economy. Demand for rail transport both passenger and freight continues to rise dramatically. But major investments can take years to deliver. We must plan now for the railway we will need in the future.
Thats led us to change the way we plan the network, introducing a new Long Term Planning Process. For the first time were starting with our aspirations. What would be the ideal railway?
In the first stages of planning were thinking about the best possible output, unconstrained by the existing network, current service patterns or even what is feasible or affordable. The second stage of the planning process then takes these aspirations and, on a route by route basis looks at what is possible and offers the best value for money.
Looking at the wider economic role of rail better enables us to identify where step change improvements could deliver significant benefits for the country.
Yorkshire/North East/East Midlands -
Fundamental to that study will be the need for further improvements to journey times and capacity between our major towns and cities. Forecasts show the increase in peak passenger demand could be as high as 62 per cent into Leeds and 56 per cent into both Newcastle and Sheffield by 2029. All day passenger demand by 2029 is forecast to increase by 38 per cent to 52 per cent between Leeds/Manchester/Sheffield.
Our priorities include further electrification links, for example between:
Hull and Selby
Harrogate and York
Bletchley and Bedford
Completing an electrified route through to Oxford
The case for extending the East-West link, connecting to Cambridge, Oxford and Milton Keynes.
Integrating the opportunities offered by HS2 to benefit passengers and freight on both networks.
And of course continuing an unremitting focus on safety and performance improving the railway every day
North West/West Midlands -
Birmingham will have a railway station it can be proud of that is equipped to handle future passenger growth. The redevelopment will also play a major role in the regeneration of Birmingham city centre and create hundreds of new jobs. The western section of East West Rail will be complete, opening up new journey and economic opportunities for Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and beyond.
The WCML will be approaching capacity, with a few remaining pinch points along the route. Some relief will be provided by the project at Norton Bridge and Stafford, and there is also some potential to further lengthen trains.By the mid 2020′s the line would be full.
HS2 will transform services on existing lines by boosting commuter capacity, providing more space for freight and creating huge opportunities for connectivity and growth. It also has significant benefits, especially in its second phase, by improving connectivity between several major cities in the UK.
A study undertaken for the Department for Transport estimated an increase in economic output of £8bn 15bn per year. There are limited alternatives to HS2. Any incremental work to provide enhancement in capacity would be highly disruptive as the WCML is already Europes busiest mixed use railway. Experience tells us that disruption would be significant, with impacts not only on the railway, but also to the economies of the West Midlands and the North West.
The timetable for services using HS2 and WCML post 2026 will be determined much closer to the time but now is the time for detailed consultation and study of a range of options and possible solutions for train services post 2026.
Scotland -
With passenger numbers predicted to continue to grow strongly in the years ahead, increasing capacity and connectivity will continue to be a key priority across Scotland.
Schemes already under consideration for CP6 include:
Further enhancement of the Aberdeen- Inverness and Highland main line routes to improve infrastructure, capacity and journey times
Continued expansion of electrification across the network in Scotland, building on EGIP
Capacity enhancements at Scotlands busiest station, Glasgow Central.
And of course continuing an unremitting focus on safety and performance improving the railway every day.
Wales -
After many years of underinvestment in the railway, the last 10 years have seen much work carried out to reverse the symptoms of neglect.
Were continuing that process, but were looking beyond 2019, planning the right investments so that our railway runs better and safer in the years to come.
This investment has helped drive demand for rail travel and we forecast that this will continue to grow strongly over the next 30 years.
The Long Term Planning Process (LTPP) is led by Network Rail in close collaboration with our train and freight customers, government and other funders. This involves assessing future demand, identifying gaps where additional capacity or capability will be required, identifying efficient and affordable solutions and, finally, presenting these solutions as choices for funders.
The LTPP will inform the future direction of the railway in Wales and we are completing the activity by summer 2015 so that it can inform the specification of the next Wales and Borders franchise.
Western -
By the end of the decade, we want to significantly transform the mainline to become the most advanced intercity railway in Britain. Weve an investment programme currently worth £6bn to help us achieve that ambition.
This is only a highlight of our plan for the Western route. All of this work will be taking place around the train timetable, the National Stations Improvement Programme and the maintenance and track renewals that we need to do to keep Britain moving.
The Western route is privileged as it enjoys a railway built by one of the finest engineers in the world. We are still relying on Brunels engineering feat nearly 180 years later but much has changed, especially the way we use the railway. Looking into the future we saw a phenomenal growth in passenger numbers and therefore a congested
Western route. Here in this future lies an enormous challenge but mostly, an exciting opportunity for Western route and to make Brunels masterpieces even bigger and better.
