Capitals linked by faster trains
£1BN INVESTMENT TO REPLACE DATED SIGNAL INFRASTRUCTURE WILL SPEED UP SERVICES
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE train passengers heading to London or Edinburgh, as well as many places in between, will soon benefit from faster trains on the East Coast Main Line.
Nottinghamshire stops in Retford and Newark North Gate will gain from a new scheme, as well as transiting through Grantham, which is a short train journey from Nottingham Railway Station.
£1 billion worth of funding is being invested into the East Coast Main Line to reduce the number of delays and make trains run faster.
The East Coast Main Line connects Edinburgh to London and stops at Retford, Newark North Gate and Grantham train stations.
The investment will replace current signalling infrastructure, which dates back to the Victorian era, with new modern technology, named the European train control system (ETCS).
The Department for Transport says the modernisation of the railways will help create fewer delays and allow them to run faster. The technology will bring signalling into train drivers’ cabs and provides them with real-time, continuous information throughout their journey. The system will monitor the train’s speed, which the DFT also says will make railways safer.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “While union bosses waste time touring television studios and standing on picket lines, I am busy getting on with the job at hand and modernising our railway.
“This £1 billion investment will allow us to replace unreliable Victorian infrastructure with cutting-edge technology which will mean fewer delays and more regular services for millions of passengers.
“The world is changing and, despite the best efforts of unions, I am determined to help our railway change with it.”
The new system is also 42 per cent cheaper than the current one, according Network Rail’s Toufic Machnouk, who said: “We will upskill our people and use new technology to improve the way we work for the benefit of passengers and freight customers.”
The DFT also said it will decrease carbon emissions by 55,000 tonnes – the equivalent of more than 65,000 one-way flights from London to New York.