Modern Railways – April 2019

http://www.modern-railways.com April 2019 Modern Railways 15

News Front

NORTHERN POWERHOUSE RAIL MOVING ‘TOO SLOWLY’

CROSSRAIL 2 STASIS ALSO A CONCERN

THE NATIONAL Infrastructure

Commission has raised concern

about slow progress with both

Transport for the North’s Northern

Powerhouse Rail programme and

London’s proposed Crossrail 2 line.

In its annual monitoring report, it

notes Government has made good

progress with some of the more

straightforward recommendations

it has made. The Commission has

made 45 recommendations in its

six studies so far, of which 42 were

accepted by Government and

10 have been closed following

completion. The NIC highlights

progress with the East West Rail

scheme among programmes

which have mobilised, although

raises concern about integration

between the planning of new

housing and transport schemes in

the Oxford to Cambridge corridor.

Regarding Northern Powerhouse

Rail, TfN’s proposed inter-city network

across the region, the NIC says

while a Strategic Outline Business

Case has been developed there

are still no clear preferred solutions

for a number of areas, noting such

decisions cannot be reached until

there is a clear funding envelope for

the scheme. It calls for Government

to establish the available funding

as part of its long-term National

Infrastructure Strategy and for TfN to

then ‘without delay’ move towards

confirming the preferred route and

station options as early as possible

in 2020, including the preferred

Leeds to Manchester route and the

structure of Manchester Piccadilly

station. It also seeks progress in the

shorter-term with the Trans-Pennine

Route Upgrade of the existing line.

LONDON TOO

Similar caution is expressed at the

slow progress on Crossrail 2, the

proposed new north east to south

west line across London, with

the Commission calling for a firm

timetable and funding proposal

to form part of the Government’s

National Infrastructure Strategy

and be published by the autumn.

It says the decision to consider the

case for Crossrail 2 at the spending

review means even the extended

timetable for the scheme may now

be missed, with concern that further

delays will make laying a hybrid

bill in this Parliament challenging,

potentially pushing back completion

beyond the early- to mid-2030s. The

NIC suggests that while the cost

overrun and delay on Crossrail 1 have

implications for Transport for London’s

financial position, they do not affect

the overall case for Crossrail 2.

One of the NIC’s other reports

concerns 5G connectivity, and it notes

the decision to cancel an initiative

to trial new infrastructure for high

capacity mobile connections on the

trans-Pennine route due to higher

than forecast costs. The Commission

calls for the Government to set out its

next steps on mobile connectivity for

rail, establishing a preferred model

for the deployment of trackside

infrastructure and providing clarity

for suppliers. Such infrastructure will

need to be in place on main rail routes

by 2025 at the latest if delivery is to

take place on a timescale consistent

with the wider deployment of 5G

networks, the Commission says.

BOLTON ELECTRICS SET FOR 100MPH IN MAY

ELECTRIC SERVICES on the

newly-wired route between

Manchester and Preston should be

able to operate at 100mph from May,

Network Rail has confirmed.

NR made its final high-speed

inspection of the route in the

early hours of 22 February using

a Northern Class 319. Electric

passenger services were introduced

on the route on 11 February but

can currently operate only at up to

75mph. The results of the tests will

be checked before being verified by

the Office of Rail and Road, paving

the way for 100mph operation

from the May timetable change.

Meanwhile, NR has completed

a series of Sunday closures on

the two routes from Preston to

Blackpool. The work at Kirkham and

Poulton-le-Fylde has seen NR install

200 metres of railway drainage,

100 metres of new track, complete

finishing touches at Kirkham &

Wesham station and fit new electrical

switches to the overhead wires.

Electric passenger services on the

Blackpool North route began in

May 2018. Work on the Blackpool

North line’s drainage system will

continue during overnight shifts

until the end of April, while two

weekend closures of the Blackpool

South line in March were due to

enable the rebuilding of Highbury

Road bridge in Lytham St Annes.

Speed-up planned: Class 319 at Bolton on the first day of electric services, 11 February 2019. Paul Bigland

CROSS-PARTY SUPPORT FOR NORTHERN TRANSPORT PLAN

MEMBERS OF Transport for the

North formally launched their

Strategic Transport Plan at the

organisation’s inaugural conference

in Sheffield on 11 February. The

£70 billion investment plan includes

proposals for the new Northern

Powerhouse Rail line (NPR) which

would link the North’s six main cities

and Manchester Airport, as well as

other significant economic centres,

and a Long Term Rail Strategy that

calls for investment in lines, stations,

services and franchises in order

to deliver greater connectivity,

capacity and cost-effectiveness.

On behalf of the Government Rail

Minister Andrew Jones welcomed

the 30-year Strategic Transport Plan,

and pointed to schemes already

underway such as tram-train,

replacement of the Tyne and Wear

Metro fleet and partial electrification

of the Midland main line as positive

steps, although his suggestion that

the ‘biggest upgrade of the Midland

main line since it was completed

in 1870’ would see ‘brand new

Intercity Express Trains’ took guests

by surprise as there are currently no

plans for new trains for the route,

let alone a particular product.

Mr Jones reiterated his

commitment to HS2 (p93, last

month) before adding his support

to the NPR project, commenting

‘We should also recognise that

HS2 won’t solve everything, it can’t

tackle the east-west links that we

need so badly. That is why we also

need the flagship scheme that is

Northern Powerhouse Rail. This is

a once in a lifetime opportunity

to make a huge leap in unlocking

the full potential of the North.’

Cross-party support for TfN’s

vision came from Shadow

Secretary of State for Transport

Andy McDonald, who commented

‘It is imperative that the decade

from 2020 is one that sees a

transformation in the entire

transport system across the north

of England and its rail services

in particular. We want to see the

Northern rail network on an equal

footing with the south and Labour

will prioritise Northern connectivity

in our approach to improvements

and enhancements. The ongoing

gulf between transport spending in

the north and south is scandalous.’

TfN Strategic Rail Director David

Hoggarth told the conference that

whilst rail in the north currently has a

4% mode share for journeys to work,

demand has increased threefold over

the last 20 years. He commented

‘The last six months have proved

that all the future thinking means

nothing if people can’t get to work

or on leisure journeys. Last May

the system broke big style and

the industry lost the trust of the

passengers and broke the promise

of the timetable.’ To ny Miles

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