MORE than £3 billion should be spent on improving Britain’s rail infrastructure as part of moves to get through the credit crunch, the Liberal Democrats have suggested.
Party leader Nick Clegg said immediately starting work on schemes to build new rail lines and buy new carriages would help to kick-start the economy.

Railnews told last month how Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a package of measures to boost the economy. It included accelerating £300 million of investment for up to 200 new carriages – part of the 1,300 pledged last year – and funding for other projects, including enhancing the North London line.

But Mr Clegg said the Government should go much further and invest dramatically in new green infrastructure.

The blueprint includes:
- Starting work immediately on building new lines, re-opening closed ones and electrifying miles of existing track. This would include electrifying the Great Western and Midland main lines at a cost of £1 billion and beginning the Liverpool light rail network by investing £200 million.

- A £2 billion spend on opening at least 11 old lines and two new ones, six old stations and one new one, and investing in signal improvements and track-doubling across the country.

- Spending £900 million on buying nearly 700 new railway carriages.
Mr Clegg said the overwhelming majority of the cash would be spent in 2009, so it would have an immediate effect on the economy.

The Lib Dems say the 200 extra carriages still leaves 677 of the previously an-nounced rolling stock orders in the sidings.

“Filling these orders would cost around £862 million and would ensure that new carriages are available far earlier than the 2014 deadline promised by the Government.

“This could help to secure jobs at Derby train firm Bombardier, as well as signal a positive future for rail manufacturing in the UK.”

While electrifying the whole network would cost at least £4.5 billion, the priorities are London-Bristol on the Great Western main line (£650 million) and London-Sheffield on the Midland main line (£301 million).

Investment now would reduce future costs, while switching to electric traction will save 20 per cent of the CO2 emissions per vehicle km compared to diesel traction.

Improvements to capacity and the quality of infrastructure will increase reliability and encourage more people to use rail transport,  the Lib Dem briefing document says.

The party has drawn up a list of lines and stations to be re-opened to create jobs.
Possible lines include Bletchley-Oxford (£135 million), Matlock-Buxton (£100 million), Crewe-Nantwich (around £40 million) and Galashiels-Carlisle (part of Waverley group, £174.5 million).

Ilkeston, Kidlington, Wantage, Corsham, Tavistock and Middlewich stations could re-open for a combined £30.35 million, while a new station at Braintree Parkway north of the A120 would cost £6 million.

New lines could include Southport, Wigan, Ormskirk, Preston Link (Burscough Curves, £12 million) and extension of the Braintree line to a new Braintree Parkway, which would cost around £16 million.

The Lib Dems have also listed a series of signalling/infrastructure schemes and line doubling projects.