Posted 22nd July 2009 | 7 Comments

Brown to electrify rail industry with two major network schemes

Overhead lines being fitted

The Government is tomorrow (Thursday July 22) expected to confirm two major electrification schemes, with decisions on other lines due later in the year.
 
With the weekly Cabinet meeting being held in Cardiff, Prime Minister Gordon Brown will announce that the Great Western main line will be electrified from London Paddington to Swansea, improving connections from the capital to South Wales.
 
That project will include Oxford and Newbury, while the Manchester to Liverpool line will also be electrified.
 
The announcements will be seen as a major victory for the new transport secretary Lord Adonis, who is credited with campaigning for major Government investment in the railway network, through electrification and high speed rail.
 
As Railnews has reported, electrification of the Great Western main line was a central feature of a new long-term strategy proposed by Network Rail in May.
 
In an introduction to the consultation document, chief executive Ian Coucher said: “Our analysis shows the long-term benefits of electrifying key parts of the network, in terms of both reducing its ongoing cost to the country and improving its environmental performance, are significant.”
 
The other key electrification identified in the document is the Midland main line to Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield, and the Government will make a decision on that project later in the year, along with routes between Manchester and Preston and Liverpool and Preston.

However the positive outcome for the Great Western main line and Manchester to Liverpool will lead to optimism that the further electrifications will also be agreed.
 


Reader Comments:

Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.

  • andrew blurton, STAFFORD, UK

    Now The Government Has Given The GO-AHEAD To The Electricification Of THE London - Swansea Corridor WHY Does'nt The Government Start Now & Planning To REDRAW The CROSS COUNTRY TRAINS ROUTES & ITS FRANCHISE WHEN THE GREAT WESTERN MAIN LINE IS FULLY WIRED & COMPLETED WITH CROSSRAIL & IT'S NEW TRAINS???
    WHY DOES'NT THE GOVERNMENT LET THE EAST WEST RAIL LINK RUN TO NORWICH & The COTWOLDS TO HEREFORD & SALISBURY VIA WESTBURY TO BRIGHTON FROM CHESTER & PRESTON & WREXHAM & WARRINGTON TO LIVERPOOL & MANCHESTER TO CORNWALL & DEVON & SUSSEX IF THESE LINES GET WIRED IN THE NEAR FUTURE WITH TRAINS NOT RUNNING VIA BIRMINGHAM OR READING IF IT HAD A NEW FLEET OF JAVELINS TO JUSTIFY IT & ADD THE MISSING NAMES & WHICH ROUTE DO YOU GO???

  • Rich, Colchester, UK

    Yes great news for the GWR mainline and long overdue. The important thing will be to keep up pressure on the Conservative party to ensure they are committed to these projects if they win the next General Election.

  • jhone, port talbot, west glam

    this is good for the railtravel
    the soner it starts the beter

  • Meic Batten, Maesteg, Wales

    Great news for Paddington - Swansea. The local services centered on Cardiff should also be included in this scheme. I don't think that there are such intense services, operated by ageing DMUs operating anywhere else and are eminently suited to electrification. The nearest parallel woud be Glasgow and they have had the wires up for donkeys' years. The Vale of Glamorgan route is also frequently used for diversionary purposes and it would be simply stupid not to electrify it as part of the main scheme.

  • Joel Kosminsky, London, Britain

    Good news! With luck, someone might unintentionally over-order masts, wires, sub-stations, trains etc and (oh what a lucky coincidence) the left-overs might match the infill bits on the Great Western. Exeter might not pass the bean-counters' eyes but (let's go mad) Gloucester and Westbury might... Anyone want spare 165s/166s?

  • T Price, Nottingham, United Kingdom

    The Great Western mainline is already a high speed line by British standards, and is relatively flat. The Midland mainline is a lot slower and has more severe gradients and so should be the first to be electrified as the benefits will be far greater.
    I can't help feeling that, once again, we are the Cinderella line.

  • H. T. Harvey, Birmingham, UK

    About time to