06.10.15
Certainty over Ordsall Chord is ‘critical’
Every single day that a decision on the £85m Ordsall Chord scheme is delayed is a day that rail passengers are not benefitting from improved services, Network Rail’s boss has told RTM.
Speaking after the official re-opening of Manchester Victoria today, Mark Carne told us that he would like a quick decision over Ordsall Chord, which is currently subject to a Judicial Review.
At the end of September, Mrs Justice Beverley Lang deferred a legal challenge to the much-delayed scheme at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
Carne told us: “Connecting up the two stations is absolutely essential for passengers so they can have their journeys connected in better ways. I’m really hopeful that this will be resolved in the very near future.
“It [Ordsall Chord] may still be some period off. But it is literally a day for a day and that means there are thousands of people who are, therefore, not harnessing the benefits of the improvements we are going to make to the network.”
The Ordsall Chord is a new section of track intended to link Manchester’s three main rail stations for the first time. It will be built north-west of Castlefield Junction, linking that line with the Deal Street Junction line.
However, the line would also intersect the world’s first ever intercity railway line, built by George Stephenson in 1830, and see a number of other grade II-listed buildings and bridges demolished.
Mark Whitby, the former president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, brought the legal challenge to the Ordsall Chord order, granted in March.
Whitby’s case was that his alternative scheme, known as Option 15 (below), can deliver the same performance improvements for passengers as the Chord without the same impact on the heritage of the structures in the area. However, he accepts that Option 15 is more expensive than Network Rail’s proposal.
Network Rail’s original aim was to begin construction on the project in late 2014 or early 2015, but the planning process has significantly delayed the timescale.
Martin Frobisher, route managing director for Network Rail, told us the project is vitally important and has received much support from politicians and the local authorities.
“We are awaiting the outcome from the judge, but when it is constructed that will be another vast improvement to the service in Manchester,” he said. “It is a great scheme to help people in Manchester. We are enthusiastic about it and hope to construct it as soon as possible.”
Although he couldn’t talk about the scheme, as it is under Judicial Review, transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin told us: “It is incredibly important and being able to link up the two stations is a very imaginative move for the city itself.”
Alex Hynes, MD at Northern Rail, added that Ordsall Chord is “critical” to provide exciting new services.
“It is not without its challenges and disruption, but it is worth it in the end,” he said, adding: “We value certainty over schedule. The worst thing in the world is a project which continually drifts ‘to the right’. What we want is certainty.
“In the High Court a decision was made not to make a decision, so the earlier we can get that decision, it has to be good. This is because it allows us to plan the railway with certainty, which is what we need when there is lots of work going on.”