South West seeks funds for rail development studies

Campaigners in the South West are calling for investment to be provided for rail studies, and suggest that money being given to other regions represents “a clear inequality”.

The Peninsula Rail Task Force (PRTF) has urged Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin to step in and provide what it calls crucial funding for two studies that will accumulate evidence for expenditure in the South West rail network.

The PRTF highlights £5 million given to the West Midlands to develop its transport strategy, and says that to date all work carried out in the South West has been funded through local authorities.

“When we were invited by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State to put forward our plans for the South West rail network, we were pleased that our issues of poor connectivity were finally being recognised,” said PRTF Chairman Andrew Leadbetter.

“We have been determined to put forward a sound business case. We know we’re up against a lot of competition and we know we have to show real economic returns.

“The West Midlands has recently had £5m of funds to develop its transport strategy, whereas to date all our work has been funded through the local authorities. There is a clear inequality here.”

The Task Force report is due this summer, and Leadbetter said that the two studies are vital to the report. “There is a very small window of opportunity to get them done in time, and to date Network Rail has no funding for them. So, we are asking the Secretary of State to intervene and ensure his departments are able to deliver, as we are doing.”

The studies will look at how faster journey times could be achieved and the impact that electrification could have. The South West is the only region not to have electrification plans, although bi-mode trains will start serving it from 2018.

Leadbetter added: “There is a huge irony in that we are expecting new rolling stock in 2017, but we will not be able to benefit to the fullest with shorter journey times because this work has not been done. It seems as if the Government is determined to leave the South West until last on the connectivity agenda, and that is simply unacceptable.“