Trans-Pennine upgrade to include electrification
The proposed trans-Pennine route upgrade will include electrification - a year after extensions of the wires to Swansea, the Lake District and on the northern section of the Midland Main Line were cancelled by the Government.
Writing to Railway Industry Association Chief Executive Darren Caplan, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling said the project was expected to account for a third of anticipated enhancements expenditure in Control Period 6 (2019-24).
Grayling wrote: “Unlike some other investment projects, the trans-Pennine upgrade will be a rolling programme of enhancements, including both major civil engineering projects and electrification.”
He added that improving journey times would involve rebuilding and relaying “most of the trackbed” from Manchester to York.
Network Rail is finalising options for the route upgrade, and Grayling told Caplan that he has instructed NR to “prioritise those elements which bring the quickest passenger benefits”. Such elements could include track realignment to improve line speeds.
NR is working with the Department for Transport, in consultation with Transport for the North, to establish the best way of upgrading the route. It expects to deliver its final project plan later this year, with initial works beginning in spring 2019.
Caplan responded: “I welcome Transport Secretary Chris Grayling’s confirmation that both civil engineering and electrification will play key parts in the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, giving rail suppliers some certainty about the scheme in the years ahead.
“The Railway Industry Association believes that electrification remains the optimal form of traction for intensively used railway lines, because it is more environmentally friendly, reduces wear and tear on track and is more cost-effective over the long term.
“The industry now looks forward to delivering on the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, working with the DfT and Network Rail. We will soon be publishing our Electrification Cost Challenge report, which examines how the cost of electrification schemes can be reduced significantly - and we hope these learnings will help inform the trans-Pennine works in order to provide cost effective electrification to the North.”