01.04.19
Network Rail unveils £2bn CP6 investment for Wales and Borders railway
Plans for a £2bn investment over the next five years across the Wales and Borders have been published by Network Rail.
This includes investing £176m on track renewals and refurbishments, £135m to improve signalling in west Wales, and an additional £27.7m in improving the railway’s extreme weather resilience.
The CP6 investment is the first time the Wales and Borders funding plan has been developed by Network Rail Wales and Borders, and includes over a thousand local schemes.
Included in the projects is a £22m renewal of the “iconic” Grade II Barmouth viaduct, and the delivery of Phase 2 of the Port Talbot re-signalling scheme to improve reliability.
Bill Kelly, route managing director for Network Rail in Wales and Borders, said: “We’ve put passengers and our freight customers first in developing our five-year plan, which will make the railway more reliable for the thousands of people who use it every day.
“Our focus over the next five years will rightly be on operating a railway people can rely on to get them to their destinations safely and on time, and we will be working closely with Transport for Wales to maximise every investment opportunity for the benefit of our passengers and freight customers.”
Other projects include substantial investment in preparing the railway for extreme weather, and installing new pumps at Sudbrook pumping station.
The funding will support Transport for Wales’ investment of £5bn over the next 15 years which will see new trains introduced onto the network, improvements to stations, and increased capacity.
James Price, Transport for Wales CEO, said: “It’s encouraging to see Network Rail committing £2bn to maintain and renew the railway across our Wales and Borders network. At Transport for Wales we have begun our investment plan of £5bn to transform transport across the sector as a result of which passengers will benefit from new trains, improved and new stations, and an overall increase in capacity across the network.
“The customer experience is at the heart of our decision making and planning as we continue to move forward and deliver our vision. We are working collaboratively with Network Rail and through this planned investment, we will create a rail service that the people of Wales can be proud of.”