Stakeholders in the railway industry have offered a mixed reaction to the government’s plans to set aside £780m to fund a series of upgrade works on the East Coast Main Line.
Prime Minister Theresa May revealed on Monday that the government is committed to overhauling transport in northern England and will fund projects that aim at increasing the number of passenger seats on the line, as well as securing faster and more frequent journeys in the area by the early 2020s.
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Speaking at her first Cabinet meeting in Gateshead, May said: “We have set out major policies and investments as part of our Modern Industrial Strategy to unlock the potential in the North.”
UK railway trade group Railway Industry Association (RIA) has welcomed the decision, saying that the move will help provide benefits to the Northern Powerhouse region.
RIA chief executive Darren Caplan commented: “The Railway Industry Association welcomes confirmation today of the £780m package of investment in trains, digital signalling and Traffic Management Systems to allow up to 24 trains per hour to run on the busiest sections of the East Coast Main Line.”
With the current signalling system capability on the line being around 16 trains per hour, Caplan added that the investment will be crucial in delivering faster and more frequent services.
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By GlobalDataHe said: “The new systems are being procured through a process which puts the emphasis on suppliers to deliver performance, reliability and to ensure the availability of the railway in working hours. This move to outcome-based procurement is to be welcomed, as it allows a greater focus on delivering results which matter to rail users, such as shorter journey times and better performance.
“Along with this investment announced today, it is vital that the government continues to support the North’s transport infrastructure more widely, through major projects like HS2, the Trans Pennine Route Upgrade and Northern Powerhouse Rail – all of which are vital not only for the North, but for UK plc, its economy and connectivity, in the years ahead.”
Train operators union Railway Delivery Group also approved the move, tweeting that alongside bringing benefits to passengers, the investment will contribute to giving devolved powers to local people in the northeast of the country.
However, Chancellor Eric Firth, deputy chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, expressed disappointment towards the lack of plans for capacity upgrades previously promised between York and Newcastle. Firth told the York Express: “This section will be vital to realising the full potential of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, and we already know the line cannot accommodate additional planned trains alongside existing services.”
Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle Central, also expressed frustration, noting that the government’s funding for transport in the north of England represents a “tiny proportion of the per head funding in London”.
