New Tyneside fleet
Tyne and Wear Metro is to receive a new train fleet, after Chancellor confirms funding of £337m.
The Tyne & Wear Metro fleet is to be replaced, following Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond’s announcement of £337 million funding in the Autumn budget statement on November 22.
The announcement, backed by a local contribution of £25m, means the new fleet is now fully funded. It will be ordered in 2020, with new trains planned to enter service from around 2021. Existing trains will be replaced on a one-for-one basis, with the last expected to be withdrawn in 2024.
In addition to the Tyne & Wear Metro funding, Hammond reaffirmed October’s announcement of £300m to ensure HS2 infrastructure can accommodate future Northern Powerhouse and Midlands rail services. Transport for the North and Midlands Connect are working on cases for these. The decision will allow faster trains to run between Liverpool and Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and York, and enable future services between Liverpool and Leeds to go via Manchester Piccadilly.
In the Midlands, £2m is being provided to develop options to address capacity constraints on the Coventry-Leamington Spa corridor, while the Gvernment has committed funds to East West Rail (see separate story).
The Government has also confirmed its support for Crossrail 2, while in Wales it says it will continue to invest in infrastructure upgrades to provide direct services from Pembroke Dock to London. It is also developing proposals for station improvements at Cardiff Central and Swansea, to upgrade the Cardiff to Severn Tunnel Junction relief lines. It will also consider proposals to improve journey times between Wrexham and Bidston.
A consultation on “commercial options” to improve mobile communications for passengers is to be announced “shortly”. This will be used to upgrade Network Rail’s test track at Melton Mowbray, install trackside infrastructure on the Trans-Pennine route between Manchester, Leeds and York, and support the rollout of ‘full-fibre’ and 5G networks.
In a widely trailed announcement, the Government also confirmed it would introduce a new railcard for passengers aged between 26 and 30, which it hopes will increase the number of journeys made. It says it will work with the rail industry, with introduction of the new railcard starting from spring 2018. The first train operating company to use it will be Greater Anglia, which will trial it from early December.
Feature, pages 62-67.