20.02.08
New carriages for busy routes
Transport secretary, Ruth Kelly has published details of how extra capacity will be delivered on some of the rail network's busiest routes.
Extra carriages were promised as part of last year's White Paper - Delivering a Sustainable Railway - which set out plans to increase capacity to carry over 180m more passengers over the next seven years - growth of more than 20%.
The rolling stock plan provides indicative numbers of additional carriages needed by English train operating companies to meet the ambitious plans for growth of our railways until 2014.
Extra capacity will be secured through additional new carriages and through re-deployment of existing carriages which will mean longer vehicles can run on busy routes and at peak times.
The new carriages will increase the current rolling stock fleet by around 10% and around 100,000 extra seats each day on the busiest parts of the network.
Much of the extra rolling stock will be introduced through variations to current franchises. This plan will now form the basis of detailed discussions with the industry. Emerging proposals will be examined and assessed to determine value for money and affordability.
The report does not give specific dates for when the new stock will arrive and until the detail is finalised passengers are unlikely to see significant change in the short term. Furthermore, it is not just a case of increasing the number of trains and carriages in some areas significant work will be needed to lengthen platforms and increase station capacity.
Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, said: “The strategy is helpful as some clarity now starts to emerge about where the welcome 1300 new trains will go and how the knock-on complex shifts of existing trains will take place. Passenger Focus will now look closely at the detail. However, passengers’ standing on England’s crowded trains and stations will want to know when the new trains will arrive – it’s cramped and uncomfortable now”.
The rolling stock plan announced by the government should stipulate that new trains will be designed to be fully staffed, including guards, and should be built in Britain, the RMT has said.
“Stipulating that this rolling stock is built in Britain using the wealth of engineering skills that still exists would give a massive boost to an industry that has suffered a series of massive blows in recent years,” said RMT general secretary Bob Crow.
“Other countries in Europe manage to protect their own manufacturing industries, and there is no earthly reason why Britain cannot also adopt a procurement policy that safeguards jobs and train-building capacity.
“It is good news that new cleaning, stabling and maintenance facilities will also be needed, but that begs the question of why skilled staff are being laid off at Chart Leacon in Kent, not least because some of the additional stock is intended for the Southern and Southeastern franchises
“The 1,300 extra carriages confirmed today is a first step towards catching up with existing rail demand and the 30 percent increase expected in the next decade.
“But we also need to see massive new investment, not least in a new north-south high-speed railway to promote rail growth that will help curb carbon emissions from cars and aeroplanes.”
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