[UK] Network Rail plans five extra main lines

Victor

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75ce3342-3efb-11dd-8fd9-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

Network Rail plans five extra main lines
By Robert Wright andJim Pickard

Published: June 20 2008 23:26 | Last updated: June 20 2008 23:26

Britain is set next week to take a significant step towards its biggest railway-building project for more than a century, when Network Rail will announce it is launching a strategic review to look at the possibility of building five new main lines.

The company, which owns and operates Britain’s main line railways, is expected to say that the lines will be needed by 2025, when existing routes north and west of London will be full to capacity.

Most routes are likely to be high-speed passenger lines, modelled on France’s TGV network, which would free up space on existing lines for local passenger and freight trains.

The routes to be examined are likely to follow roughly a series of existing routes from London: the West Coast Line to Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, Great Western line to Bristol, East Coast line to Edinburgh, Midland line to Sheffield and Chiltern route to Birmingham.

Only one new main line rail route has been built in the UK in the past century – High Speed One from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel, whose last section opened in November.

Before that, the last new main line to be constructed was the extension of the Great Central Railway from Nottinghamshire to London, Marylebone, opened in 1899.

Network Rail is unlikely to specify which new lines should be high-speed because speed will be one of the issues examined in the review, for which the company is seeking a consultant. While high-speed trains generally emit less carbon dioxide per passenger for a journey than aircraft, faster trains emit CO2 far more than conventional-speed trains.

The Department for Transport faced criticism last summer when its rail White Paper contained no concrete plans either to electrify much of the rail system or to plan for future high-speed lines.

Network Rail is thought to be launching the review under its obligation to plan for the railways’ long-term future.

The busiest rail lines are growing increasingly crowded after passenger traffic grew 67 per cent between 1994 and last year. Freight traffic is up about 50 per cent since the mid-1990s.

Run_to_da_hills

A high speed run from London to Holyhead would not go astray, I hate that Journey! It would also give Michael O' Leary a run for his money if they could make that crossing from Dublin to Central London in under 5 hours.

jjbrien

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

A high speed run from London to Holyhead would not go astray, I hate that Journey! It would also give Michael O' Leary a run for his money if they could make that crossing from Dublin to Central London in under 5 hours.

theres hardly enough of a population along that route to justify a high speed line they would be better bringing back the superseacat from Dublin to Liverpool 3:45 hrs and then a high speed train from liverpool to london 1hr the line would then leave from a major population centre and be viable holyhead would not be viable

Run_to_da_hills

jjbrien wrote: »

theres hardly enough of a population along that route to justify a high speed line they would be better bringing back the superseacat from Dublin to Liverpool 3:45 hrs and then a high speed train from liverpool to london 1hr the line would then leave from a major population centre and be viable holyhead would not be viable

3 1/2 Hours in a boat :eek:, i.e. one of the main reasons people are put off this route, Holyhead is less than two hours, even a high speed train from Crewe would help take the sting out of this journey. People are beginning to realize that air travel is not what it is all made out to be and they don't take into consideration extras like the Gatwick express, excess baggage, hidden cost etc.which are creeping up. I took the HSS/Rail route from Dunloghaire last week and was in Oxford St only three hours later than if I flew.

Traffic

Stena Line have announced that the HSS is to reduce speed to save on fuel adding an extra 16 mins on the crossing between Dun L and Hollyhead

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055319136

Run_to_da_hills

Traffic wrote: »

Stena Line have announced that the HSS is to reduce speed to save on fuel adding an extra 16 mins on the crossing between Dun L and Hollyhead

I wouldn't blame them and was surprised why this was not done years ago with the amount of passengers it has been carrying. Low cost airlines have really hammered Sealink on this route. Return to Euston is ony e88 with HSS/Rail. The cheapest rail only return from Holyhead to Euston is alone is e92.04 showing you just how much this route is being subsidised.