Railways to get £8bn investment

[ralphchadkirk]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11834531

The government has announced plans for £8bn of investment in the railways.

It is buying about 2,000 new carriages to tackle overcrowding, electrifying some lines and pressing ahead with the Thameslink programme.

But plans to modernise the London-Swansea line are still on hold and it will be the end of the decade before the investment is complete.

Passengers also face large increases in ticket prices in order to help pay for the investments.

New carriages
The government had put many rail investment schemes on hold while it decided which it could afford in the face of budget cuts. Now we know that more than 2,000 new carriages are being bought, with 1,850 of them being used to provide extra capacity.

Those carriages will not arrive instantly though - they won't finish coming into service until 2019.

Some 400 of them are for Crossrail (the new line being built east-west across London), 800 for Thameslink (the north-south link across London) and 650 will be given to different franchises around the country.

Those 650 carriages will be used to serve commuters travelling into the big cities.

But the government cannot say precisely which franchises will get what.

Although the new carriages will be given to the franchises, and represent good news for passengers - the train companies will want extra money from the government to run them.

So ministers will now negotiate with franchises to get the best deal they can - and that will determine in part where the carriages go.

Those carriages will increase capacity on the network by 17%, enabling an extra 185,000 passengers to be carried at any one time.

Thameslink green light
The Thameslink project is also going to go ahead in full. This will eventually double capacity on the route from Brighton to Bedford, allowing up to 24 trains an hour.

Work on the scheme is already underway, but there had been question marks over whether the rest of the stages would go ahead.

It won't be completed though until 2018 - two years later than planned. That delay means the engineering work is easier, and cuts costs.

There is also news that lines in the north west - from Manchester to Liverpool and Manchester to Blackpool - are going to be electrified.

Electric trains have an operating cost roughly half that of their diesel equivalents. They are also more reliable and can fit more passengers on board.

Fare rises
But the long-awaited electrification of the London to Swansea Great Western route still isn't happening.

The government is deciding whether to replace the intercity fleet with electric trains, or electric-diesel hybrids. Whatever it decides will determine what happens to the electrification of the route into South Wales.

Passengers face an average fare rise of 6.2% in the new year, with some commuters seeing their tickets go up by as much as 12.8%.

The government says these fare rises are necessary to safeguard the investment that has just been announced.

 

[swt_passenger]

From Rail News:

http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/general/2010/11/25-major-railway-investment-gets-green.html

THE government has confirmed this morning that it's going ahead with new rolling stock orders and electrification worth £8 billion, including 2,100 new vehicles for Thameslink, Crossrail and other operators.

The transport secretary Philip Hammond is authorising 1,200 vehicles for Thameslink and the infrastructure upgrade of their route across central London, at a cost of £6 billion.

He has also confirmed the already-announced electrification of the 'north west triangle', and electrification of the Great Western Main Line between London and Oxford and Newbury. This route had already been set to be electrified as far as Maidenhead as part of the Crossrail programme.

That (not mentioned by the BBC) fits well with the previously proposed use of Thameslink cascaded 319s on the GW. Having OK'd Thameslinks full rolling stock order, Oxford and Newbury logically follow on, even if Bristol and Swansea require an IEP decision.

 

[WatcherZero]

So of the creaky old HLOS requirement of 1300 (Excludes Thameslink, includes Crossrail) their proposing 900.

 

[swt_passenger]

So of the creaky old HLOS requirement of 1300 (Excludes Thameslink, includes Crossrail) their proposing 900.

Not AFAICT.

The 1300 announced in the HLOS did include early Thameslink deliveries prior to 2014, but never included any Crossrail stock.

n/TOC/Additional EMU/Additional DMU
1 C2C 40 0
2 One 188 0
3 National Express East Coast 0 0
4 First Capital Connect 256 0
5 East Midlands Trains 0 3
6 London Midland 66 26
7 Intercity West Coast 106 0
8 Chiltern 0 12
9 First Great Western 0 52
10 South Western 105 0
11 South Central 106 0
12 South Eastern 110 0
13 Cross Country 0 6
14 Transpennine Express 0 42
15 Northern 24 158
Total 1001 EMU 299 DMU

The real question is whether the new numbers include those on order but yet to be delivered, such as the Pendolinos and 379s. If they don't there are already about 650 of 1300 on order.

 

[jopsuk]

Much of that £8 billion is far from new, of course. In fact, don't think any of it is new? Have they really just announced a cut in already planned capital spending and announced it as investment? Nice work!

The GWML electrification annoucement is interesting though.

 

[WatcherZero]

Not AFAICT.

The 1300 announced in the HLOS did include early Thameslink deliveries prior to 2014, but never included any Crossrail stock.



The real question is whether the new numbers include those on order but yet to be delivered, such as the Pendolinos and 379s. If they don't there are already about 650 of 1300 on order.

Your right, switched them in my head

 

[swt_passenger]

Much of that £8 billion is far from new, of course. In fact, don't think any of it is new? Have they really just announced a cut in already planned capital spending and announced it as investment? Nice work!

This £8m has to be added to what was already announced earlier in October for other infrastructure work though.

I think when the detailed analysis comes out it may actually be an increase in planned rolling stock investment.

But multiple announcements have been going on for the last 10 years or more - why expect a change now? Only the other day NR announced the full Felixstowe to Nuneaton gauge enhancement again, duplicating the £80m announced with a huge fanfare back in 2007 for Peterborough - Nuneaton, already underway as far as I can work out.

 

[The Decapod]

When they say 2000 new carriages, presumably these will be in the form of multiple units, not just extra centre carriages to insert into existing MUs.

 

[sprinterguy]

Any news confirming investment in new rolling stock is good news. Though as others have said before, it doesn't seem that many of the new carriages promised are additional to the HLOS. Given that it'll be up until 2019 before all these trains are delivered, I really hope that Northern is going to see some new diesel units out of this, Pacers aren't going to last forever. At least the north west electrification is going ahead that'll reduce the number of DMUs required in the area when the Thameslink 319s head that way.

Also good to see that Great Western electrification is going as far as Oxford to make logical use of more cascaded 319s and free up some Turbos for other work.

 

[philjo]

http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/statements/hammond20101125

Statement by:
The Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP

Date delivered:
25 November 2010

Statement type:
Written

The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr Philip Hammond): This statement sets out the Government’s plans for investment in rail infrastructure and rolling stock. It builds on the announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the outcome of the Spending Review.

Over the next four years, we will provide £14 billion of funding to Network Rail to support capital maintenance and infrastructure investment; and £750 million for high speed rail. We will also fund the Crossrail project, the Tube upgrade programme, light rail projects in Birmingham, Tyneside, Nottingham and Sheffield; and provide additional funding to franchisees for extra rolling stock.

Today, I can confirm we will fund and deliver the Thameslink programme in its entirety, virtually doubling the number of north-south trains running through central London at peak times. But the original programme for the rebuilding of London Bridge was always ambitious, with substantial risks around delivery, and operation of existing services, during construction. To reduce these risks, we have re-profiled the delivery of the programme to achieve completion in 2018. This will enable Network Rail to make further efficiencies to their design and delivery programme.

As part of the Thameslink programme, we will procure a new fleet of trains – up to 1,200 new carriages. This is in addition to around 600 new carriages which will be provided for the Crossrail project. The new Thameslink and Crossrail rolling stock will enable the redeployment of hundreds of serviceable electric carriages currently used on Thameslink services. These carriages belong to rolling-stock leasing companies, but we expect they will be available at competitive leasing prices for re-use elsewhere, thus justifying further electrification of our network.

As a first step, Network Rail will electrify the commuter services on the Great Western Main Line from London to Didcot, Oxford and Newbury over the next six years. Electric trains will speed up journeys, improve reliability and reduce the impact on the environment. Network Rail will also electrify the lines between Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Blackpool - an investment of up to £300 million. Work is expected to begin next year and to be finished in 2016. As with Thameslink, we expect Network Rail to keep a tight rein on costs.

The redeployment of electric rolling stock to these routes will, in turn, free up hundreds of diesel units which will be available to Train Operators to lease as they become available in the period after 2015.

I can also today confirm that an additional 650 carriages will have been delivered to the network between 6 May 2010 and March 2014. This is in addition to the Thameslink and Crossrail carriages I have already mentioned.

We have funding confirmed for developments at Reading, Birmingham, London Kings Cross and Gatwick Airport. In addition, investments on the East Coast Main Line and Midland Main Line and improvements in Yorkshire, on trans pennine routes, around Manchester and in South Wales will improve line speed, reliability and capacity of services.

Beyond these investments in the commuter railway, there are far-reaching decisions to be made about intercity services. The Intercity Express Programme, launched by the previous Government, identified the Agility Trains consortium as preferred bidder to build a new fleet of intercity trains. This February, my predecessors invited Sir Andrew Foster, to provide an independent assessment of the programme. Sir Andrew recommended work on the Agility Trains proposal and a detailed study of the alternatives. Following this work, the four options Sir Andrew identified, have been narrowed down to two. I have ruled out the option of requiring passengers to interchange from electric to diesel trains, recognising the value to passengers of preserving through-journeys. I have also ruled out the option of a wholesale refurbishment of the existing diesel “Intercity 125” fleet, some of which dates back to the 1970s.

The remaining options are, on the one hand a revised, lower cost Agility Trains proposal, which envisages a mixed fleet: some all-electric trains, and some electric trains which are also equipped with underfloor diesel engines. And on the other, a fleet of new all-electric trains which could be coupled to new diesel locomotives where the overhead electric power lines end. Both these options would allow us to preserve through-journeys between London and parts of the rail network which are not electrified. Both of them would deliver faster journey times. For example, we expect to see a time saving of at least 15 minutes, for the journey between Cardiff and London bringing it below 2 hours.

This is a major decision which will affect intercity rail travel for decades, and we must get it right. To address outstanding issues on choice of train type and further electrification on the Great Western Main Line, additional work will be required within the Department, with Agility Trains, and with the Welsh Assembly Government on the business case for electrification into Wales. I expect to announce a final decision on IEP, and on further Great Western electrification, in the New Year.

This package I have announced today has only been possible because this government has been prepared to take the tough decisions to protect investment in Britain’s future. I will make a further oral statement to the House on the issues raised in this statement later today.

 

[Aictos]

I hope this means that Peterborough is going to get remodelled, I've seen plans of the new station and the end result is nothing like the existing station.

 

[YorkshireBear]

I just watched the 2 minute interview on BBC site. he says 650 new carriges in before end of 2014, some of them thameslink some of them north west and some Northern england to scotland? to me that says XC dont know whether thats wishful thinking

 

[WatcherZero]

I wonder if they realise when they say their expanding national capacity by 17% by 2019 that in 2019 some stock (300 odd pacer carriages and some older EMU stock) will be withdrawn.

 

[Oswyntail]

I do like the statement in the media that Thameslink will be "two years" late. Anyone remember "Thameslink 2000"?

 

[Fred26]

I hope this means that Peterborough is going to get remodelled, I've seen plans of the new station and the end result is nothing like the existing station.

What will it look like?

 

[Lampshade]

In other news it's been confirmed fares are going to rise on average by £8bn

 

[shinkansen1966]

Much of this £8bn news seems to be recycled. From what I can see, the only actual news appears to be:
-Thameslink delayed by two years
-Much of the GWML electrification postponed or cancelled

Those projects being retained appear to be based on rolling stock orders. Could it be that it was too late for the DfT to cancel the new Thameslink rolling stock ? So they found themselves with surplus 319s looking for a home and pressing ahead with the Lancashire electrification seemed to be the best face saver ?

Also...

Is the Thameslink still going to connect ECML Kings Lynn / Peterborough services via St Pancras to the rest of the Thameslink network. The cord connecting Thameslink and ECML just north of St Pancras (basement platforms) is in place.

Or by 2016/17, are we going to have just the exisiting Thameslink service, but with longer trains ?

 

[Aictos]

What will it look like?

Well the concourse is going to be completely remodelled and a gateline will be installed, hopefully the old Royal Mail access gate at the northern end of Platform 2 will be removed with improved fencing.

Next time you're coming though, ask the staff nicely if you could get a look at the plans - I don't think they're available yet as a PDF file though

Anyway, the local paper did a article on it not so long ago but it was touch and go if the proposals were actually still going to go ahead or have some aspects cut back.

Two new platforms in £38.8m Peterborough station revamp

By STEPHEN BRIGGS
Published on Fri Oct 08 09:02:47 BST 2010

Thousands of rail users can expect to enjoy better services after a £38.8 million plan to revamp Peterborough station was unveiled.

Two extra platforms are proposed for the current five-platform station, which will take local trains off the main line linking Peterborough to London and the north and help reduce delays.

The project, which has received government funding, also includes lengthening existing platforms to allow longer trains to travel through the station.

Lifts will be installed to help pedestrians access all seven platforms and there will be an extension to the current footbridge and a loop of track for freight trains to avoid the station will be completed by December 2013.

Funding for the footbridge and lifts has come from the Department for Transport’s ‘Access for All’ programme.

The scheme has been designed to cope with a predicted 20 per cent increase in station footfall by 2016. In 2009/2010 the footfall at the station reached almost four million.

The plans were revealed by Network Rail on the same day that plans for the redevelopment of the old Royal Mail Sorting Office near the station were shown to the public.

Leader of Peterborough City Council Marco Cereste said: “This is great news. The railway station is the gateway to the city and these plans will mean more people will be able to come through the city, and there will be less crowding.”

Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson said: “Anything that helps to upgrade the station should be welcomed.

“But long term the station needs a complete development. I would like to see a new station, located on the west side of the current location, but I understand Network Rail does not have the financial wherewithal at the moment.”

Chief executive of Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, John Bridge, said: “Everybody accepts that the station needs a facelift to turn it into a wonderful entry to the city. This news is very welcome.”

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We share the ambition of the local community to see Peterborough’s station quarter enhanced, and we will continue to work with developers to explore ways to improve the station.

“In the meantime we are committed to increasing capacity and improving performance at Peterborough through the addition of two new platforms on the western side of the station. These new platforms will allow services to and from East Anglia to operate independently of services on the busy East Coast Main Line, reducing the risk of delays for passengers on both lines.”

Peterborough station history

Peterborough station first opened in its current location in August 1850.

It was the first station on the East Coast Mainline to be electrified in 1965 when a stretch between the city and Grantham was modernised. The move allowed trains to travel at more than 100mph for the first time. The first electrified mast can still be found near Platform One.

The station was first known as Peterborough Priestgate and then Peterborough Cowgate, before being named ‘Peterborough’ in 1911.

 

[jon0844]

Are any of the new Thameslink trains going to be seen on the GN side, or is this exclusively for the former TL route?

And if new trains were going to GN, and London Overground takes over the inner-suburban services to Moorgate, wouldn't this mean there are going to be loads of 365s to cascade? I guess the 313s would not go anywhere else, as they would surely be life expired by then (even if I think they'd go on forever)?

 

[Aictos]

Much of this £8bn news seems to be recycled. From what I can see, the only actual news appears to be:
-Thameslink delayed by two years
-Much of the GWML electrification postponed or cancelled

Those projects being retained appear to be based on rolling stock orders. Could it be that it was too late for the DfT to cancel the new Thameslink rolling stock ? So they found themselves with surplus 319s looking for a home and pressing ahead with the Lancashire electrification seemed to be the best face saver ?

Also...

Is the Thameslink still going to connect ECML Kings Lynn / Peterborough services via St Pancras to the rest of the Thameslink network. The cord connecting Thameslink and ECML just north of St Pancras (basement platforms) is in place.

Or by 2016/17, are we going to have just the exisiting Thameslink service, but with longer trains ?

Basically in summary, what the investment means to the Thameslink Programme is:

The vital third and final stage of the programme “Key Output 2” will go ahead, introducing a brand new fleet of replacement trains on the Thameslink route that will allow us to run a comprehensive 12-carriage service

The reconstruction of London Bridge station and unravelling of the complex track layout in that vicinity will unblock one of our worst bottlenecks on the rail network

By finally linking the Great Northern route into the Thameslink route with further new trains through a tunnel at St Pancras International there will be still more capacity gains and direct travel across the centre of London.

Eventually, with the help of automatic train operation, we will have trains running at metro-like frequencies across the centre of London, every two to three minutes, offering significant relief to the Northern line of the London Underground.

So great news for all,

 

[northwichcat]

I just watched the 2 minute interview on BBC site. he says 650 new carriges in before end of 2014, some of them thameslink some of them north west and some Northern england to scotland? to me that says XC dont know whether thats wishful thinking

Or Manchester-Bolton-Preston-Scotland which had previously been promised 350s.

The future West Coast plan is also for Pendolinos to be a regular occurance on Birmingham-Crewe-Preston-Scotland.

 

[swt_passenger]

Are any of the new Thameslink trains going to be seen on the GN side, or is this exclusively for the former TL route?

And if new trains were going to GN, and London Overground takes over the inner-suburban services to Moorgate, wouldn't this mean there are going to be loads of 365s to cascade? I guess the 313s would not go anywhere else, as they would surely be life expired by then (even if I think they'd go on forever)?

The routes on the GN side that go over to Thameslink do get the new stock, it's the only way of justifying the increase numbers.

London Overground taking over the inners is not an official policy at all, no matter how logical it sounds, you won't find anything about it that's come from DfT or TfL.

 

[sprinterguy]

Are any of the new Thameslink trains going to be seen on the GN side, or is this exclusively for the former TL route?

And if new trains were going to GN, and London Overground takes over the inner-suburban services to Moorgate, wouldn't this mean there are going to be loads of 365s to cascade? I guess the 313s would not go anywhere else, as they would surely be life expired by then (even if I think they'd go on forever)?

The second batch of new Thameslink trains are primarily for the Great Northern routes when they are connected into the Thameslink network. Looking at the 2016 map, the Moorgate (perfect for LO) and Hertford loop services will be staying separate to the GN Thameslink trains: http://www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk/cms/pages/view/31

 

[swt_passenger]

Or Manchester-Bolton-Preston-Scotland which had previously been promised 350s.

Yes I just mentioned this one in reply to a point in another thread.

Since then Hammond has just been on live in the Commons and he stated explicitly that the section in the NW scheme required for this route would be done first, and trains would be running in 2013.

 

[jd]

By 'light rail projects in Birmingham' they presumably mean the construction of about 200m of tram line along basically the only street in the City Centre buses for the south of the city are still allowed to use.

Yay...


And I think I'm with Bob Crow on this one:

But Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, called the plans "classic political smoke and mirrors".

"The reality is that the inflation-busting fare increases kick in within weeks while the infrastructure and upgrade works we need to drag the UK's railways out of the slow lane are light years away," he said.

We already have the most expensive railways in basically the whole world as it is...

 

[sprinterguy]

Yes I just mentioned this one in reply to a point in another thread.

Since then Hammond has just been on live in the Commons and he stated explicitly that the section in the NW scheme required for this route would be done first, and trains would be running in 2013.

I wonder if that possibly means the route will be added on to the new West Coast franchise which will start in late 2012 (hopefully). Fantastic news, more suitable electric trains for Manchester to Scotland and more 185s available for TPE to bolster servies on their core routes

 

[jopsuk]

New TL trains will be on the GN if the connection is made. Really is unclear from what's been put out there so far if this is what is intended.

As far as I've understood, on the Cambridge side of the GN the Thameslink service would take over the "semi-fast" service, with the two express (one to Kings Lynn) and the slow remaining to/from Kings Cross? I'd reckon the 317 and 321 fleets might be displace/retired, but other GN may still need all the Networkers, especially if the IEP isn't happening (as the Cambridge Express was supposed to be going to "Commuter IEP" under that plan)

 

[sprinterguy]

By 'light rail projects in Birmingham' they presumably mean the construction of about 200m of tram line along basically the only street in the City Centre buses for the south of the city are still allowed to use.

Yep, that's the one. And a number of said buses are going to be moved off Corporation Street to make way for the tram.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Yes I just mentioned this one in reply to a point in another thread.

Since then Hammond has just been on live in the Commons and he stated explicitly that the section in the NW scheme required for this route would be done first, and trains would be running in 2013.

realised now, that makes sense 2013 wow lets get cracking then!

 

[jd]

Yep, that's the one. And a number of said buses are going to be moved off Corporation Street to make way for the tram.

Well that'll be interesting - do we know where to? Turning back at Priory Queensway/Park Street or something like that? Northern end of Corporation Street then James Watt Queensway maybe?