September 29, 2011
Better services, improved passenger information, and cuts in the cost of running the railways have been outlined in future plans announced by rail chiefs.
Described as an initial industry plan, the programme covers the period 2014 to 2019, with the industry aiming to cut rail costs by £1.3 billion a year by the end of this decade.
Plans include £5.6 billion-worth of schemes, including the Northern Hub – a £560 million plan to deliver more than 700 extra services a day between Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sheffield.
The rail chiefs’ vision also includes journey time improvements in the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Bristol and Oxford areas and electrification of the Midland main line, the north trans-Pennine line, and further electrification schemes in Scotland.
The plan also envisages improvements to a number of stations including Fenchurch Street in London and Liverpool Central, as well as a £200 million scheme to improve services between Inverness and Aberdeen in Scotland.
By better linking Britain’s major cities, an extra 180,000 peak-time seats could be provided, as well as accommodating a 30% increase in freight.
Rail chiefs also announced plans to move from 800 signal boxes to 14 modern signalling centres. The hoped-for schemes, which will need Government approval, are in addition to £4.9 billion-worth of ongoing projects such as the Thameslink and Crossrail schemes in London and already-announced electrification schemes such as the Great Western line.
The rail industry also spoke of trying to improve the passenger experience in key areas such as journey information, comfort and accessibility.
Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said: “Rail has a bright future in supporting a successful green economy in the years ahead. This plan shows how we can do that by providing a better quality of service to growing numbers of passengers at a more affordable cost.
“We look forward to working with government to ensure the right framework is in place to make this possible.”
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September 1, 2011
Network Rail today published an analysis of passenger congestion at stations along with a toolkit of potential measures for the industry to address congestion at stations around the network.
Congestion can affect passengers at smaller stations as much as at the big termini in major cities. The report – the Network Route Utilisation Strategy: Stations – recommends that action is taken to identify the measures needed to relieve passenger congestion at 11 stations by 2019.
The stations identified in the report are:
London
Victoria, Fenchurch Street, Charing Cross, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon and Surbiton.
Outside London
Liverpool Lime Street, Basingstoke, Bristol Parkway, Preston and Watford Junction.
Paul Plummer, Network Rail’s group strategy director, said: “A successful railway station should add to the passenger experience as well as support the economic, social and environmental benefits of rail. As more and more people choose to travel by rail, it’s vital that passenger congestion is tackled or some stations risk becoming victims of their own success.
“Working with our partners from across the rail industry, we have identified a number of stations that would benefit from cost effective measures to reduce congestion and improve the travelling experience for passengers.”
The list excludes stations where congestion-tackling measures are already in place, such as Paddington and Farringdon in London.
NR also listed 12 stations with long-term plans which would deal with congestion, but which might not be fully committed or developed.
These 12 stations are: Barking in east London, Bristol Temple Meads, Chelmsford, Derby, Finsbury Park, Glasgow Queen Street (High Level), Leeds, Liverpool Central, London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly (west side platforms), Manchester Victoria and Tottenham Hale.
Today’s publication takes in to account comments received following the publication of the draft route utilisation strategy for consultation in May 2011.
Leave a Comment » | Railway News | Tagged: Account, action, Analysis, Barking, Basingstoke, Benefit, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Charing Cross, Chelmsford, Cities, Clapham Junction, comments, Congestion, Consultation, Cost Effective, Derby, Director, Draft, Economic, Environmental, Experience, Farringdon, Fenchurch Street, Finsbury Park, Glasgow Queen Street, Group, Industry, Leeds, Liverpool Central, Liverpool Lime Street, London, London Euston, Major, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria, May 2001, Measures, Network, Network Rail, Network Route Utilisations Strategy, News, NR, Paddington, Partners, Passenger, Paul Plummer, Preston, Publication, Rail, Railway, RUS, Smaller, Social, Station, Stations, Strategy, Success, Support, Surbiton, Tackled, Termini, Tottenham Hale, Travel, Victim, Victoria, Watford Junction, Wimbledon | Permalink
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Network Rail publishes recommendations to tackle overcrowding at stations
September 1, 2011Network Rail today published an analysis of passenger congestion at stations along with a toolkit of potential measures for the industry to address congestion at stations around the network.
Congestion can affect passengers at smaller stations as much as at the big termini in major cities. The report – the Network Route Utilisation Strategy: Stations – recommends that action is taken to identify the measures needed to relieve passenger congestion at 11 stations by 2019.
The stations identified in the report are:
London
Victoria, Fenchurch Street, Charing Cross, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon and Surbiton.
Outside London
Liverpool Lime Street, Basingstoke, Bristol Parkway, Preston and Watford Junction.
Paul Plummer, Network Rail’s group strategy director, said: “A successful railway station should add to the passenger experience as well as support the economic, social and environmental benefits of rail. As more and more people choose to travel by rail, it’s vital that passenger congestion is tackled or some stations risk becoming victims of their own success.
“Working with our partners from across the rail industry, we have identified a number of stations that would benefit from cost effective measures to reduce congestion and improve the travelling experience for passengers.”
The list excludes stations where congestion-tackling measures are already in place, such as Paddington and Farringdon in London.
NR also listed 12 stations with long-term plans which would deal with congestion, but which might not be fully committed or developed.
These 12 stations are: Barking in east London, Bristol Temple Meads, Chelmsford, Derby, Finsbury Park, Glasgow Queen Street (High Level), Leeds, Liverpool Central, London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly (west side platforms), Manchester Victoria and Tottenham Hale.
Today’s publication takes in to account comments received following the publication of the draft route utilisation strategy for consultation in May 2011.
Leave a Comment » | Railway News | Tagged: Account, action, Analysis, Barking, Basingstoke, Benefit, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Charing Cross, Chelmsford, Cities, Clapham Junction, comments, Congestion, Consultation, Cost Effective, Derby, Director, Draft, Economic, Environmental, Experience, Farringdon, Fenchurch Street, Finsbury Park, Glasgow Queen Street, Group, Industry, Leeds, Liverpool Central, Liverpool Lime Street, London, London Euston, Major, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria, May 2001, Measures, Network, Network Rail, Network Route Utilisations Strategy, News, NR, Paddington, Partners, Passenger, Paul Plummer, Preston, Publication, Rail, Railway, RUS, Smaller, Social, Station, Stations, Strategy, Success, Support, Surbiton, Tackled, Termini, Tottenham Hale, Travel, Victim, Victoria, Watford Junction, Wimbledon | Permalink
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