All change as government announces £84m investment into rail
Passengers across the North West will benefit from an £84 million Government investment to cut delays and improve the reliability of trains across the region.
Rail minister, Wendy Morton MP, announced a package of infrastructure upgrades during a visit to Manchester Victoria station which is described as being transformative to the day-to-day journeys of train passengers in the North West.
The funding which forms part of the Secretary of State’s Manchester Recovery Task Force’s (MRTF) plans and comes ahead of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) and other infrastructure works which the transport secretary Grant Shapps said would “transform the lives of passengers across the region for generations to come”.
The investment includes upgrades to track-side equipment between Manchester and Liverpool and platform extensions on the Cumbrian route, which will enable longer trains with extra seats to be introduced.
This will then be followed next year by additional platform extensions to some of the busiest routes across the North West and West Yorkshire, supporting the roll-out of longer electric trains by Northern.
Shapps said: “This £84m investment will make trains more reliable for the people of Manchester and beyond and kicks off a decade’s worth of improvements across the region.
“The Transpennine Route Upgrade, the Integrated Rail Plan and Northern Powerhouse Rail will transform the lives of passengers across the region for generations to come.
“As we level up the country, we’re determined to use rail to boost local economies, create greener journeys and changes lives for the better.”
Other beneficiaries of the funding will be Manchester Piccadilly and International Airport, which like Victoria will see improvements to passenger facilities. While Manchester Oxford Road station will be remodelled and work on the TRU including electrification and re-signalling will continue.
The TRU is described by the Department for Transport as paving “the way for Northern Powerhouse Rail, transforming rail journeys across the North including between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and York”. It aims to improve connectivity, support economic growth and deliver real benefits for passengers and communities in the North.
However, the decision by Government when it published its Integrated Rail Plan, led to the North’s Labour mayors – Tracy Brabin (West Yorkshire), Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester), Steve Rotherham (Liverpool City Region) and Dan Jarvis (South Yorkshire) – writing a letter to demand that rail plans be reassessed!
These latest improvements come in addition to those announced in January’s Integrated Rail Plan, which is investing £96bn investment across the North and Midlands to transform rail services.
Dave Penney, passenger strategy director for Network Rail’s North West and Central region, said that this latest investment will “mean fewer delays and add 20% more peak-time seats from December 2022”.
Matthew Golton, managing director at TransPennine Express, who recently sponsored TheBusinessDesk.com’s Invest North conference said: “This multi-million-pound package that enables the development of needed infrastructure capacity will work hand-in-hand with our own investments in new journey opportunities, new trains and station improvements to give customers the modern, reliable and efficient rail service they deserve.”
