NETWORK RAIL has announced plans to invest £2.2billion in train lines across the region in its biggest investment in infrastructure since the Victorian era.
The business plan, covering the period from 2014 to 2019, maps out a programme of projects designed to maintain and improve an ageing infrastructure and schemes to reduce the cost of running the rail network across the Anglia route. Network Rail will continue its commitment to minimise as much as possible the number of long weekend closures as it upgrades the network.
Dave Ward, Network Rail route managing director for the south east, said: “The railway is busier than it ever has been and passenger numbers continue to grow every year. As our railway gets busier the challenges get bigger and more complex. We have entered an era of trade-offs. Increasingly we have to balance the need to build more infrastructure, run trains on time and cut costs, and in many areas choices will need to be made.
“The plan we have set out will deliver real improvements to meet growing demand over the coming years and bring ageing parts of the network into the 21st century. This vital investment programme will pave the way for more services, new trains and a more reliable railway which supports and encourages economic growth across the east of England.”
The multi billion pound plans include:
Completion of Crossrail to transform commuter services between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street, with upgrades to 13 stations on the Great Eastern main line between Shenfield and central London reports the Thurrock Enquirer.
The upgrade of outdated overhead power lines between London Liverpool Street and Chelmsford is set to be completed by May 2017, providing a more reliable service for passengers. With plans to then renew overhead line equipment on the branch line to Southend
A new rail operating centre will open in Romford in 2014, which will eventually control the entire railway in the Anglia region, covering parts of London, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire
Network Rail would like to electrify the line between Gospel Oak and Barking, enabling freight trains from Tilbury and the new London Gateway Port (set to open in late 2013) to avoid the Great Eastern main line between Forest Gate Junction and Stratford
Estimates show that between 8am and 9am – the busiest hour in the morning peak period – the number of passengers on the Great Eastern main line heading to Liverpool Street is set to increase by 49 per cent by 2031, from 16,500 to 24,600.
Welcoming the plans, South East Local Enterprise Partnership Chairman John Spence said: “Enhancing our area’s transport infrastructure will help secure and maintain an environment where our businesses can grow and flourish. Our rail network is a key element of this and it is vital that we make sure it is able to perform effectively and efficiently now and rises to meet the challenges of the future. This is why we welcome and support the plans outlined by Network Rail today.”
I would like to see Upminster to Romford open on Sunday. London Railway links with Ferry to Gravesend re established and thus opening up Kent as in the past. Poor usage in the past was down to poor service and badly maintained equipment. Social Profit (environmental friendly / profits fuel good infrastructure) can be achieved.
Purfleet – build new station C2C link with Euro-star / High Speed St Pancras so Borough is better connected and open for business / pleasure at weekends. Unitary Thurrock does not mean we have to be cut off from the rest of the Country – embrace change to move forwards or risk continued stagnation!