Posted 28th November 2011 | 3 Comments
Rail in line for a share of autumn spending bonanza
MORE electrification and a London Underground extension are reported to be among the capital projects which the Chancellor is set to confirm in tomorrow's autumn spending statement.
George Osborne is expected to unveil a number of projects, including the electrification of the North TransPennine line between Manchester and Leeds.
A proposed extension of the London Underground Northern Line to Battersea is also likely to get the go-ahead, while the development of the Tyne & Wear Metro is expected to be 'accelerated'.
The Metro has already received a £350 million injection from the Department for Transport to modernise the 31-year old system, although this was only awarded on condition that Tyne & Wear PTE (Nexus) created a third-party operating concession, which started in April last year.
Meanwhile, there has been more early reaction to the Chancellor's expected reduction of January's regulated rail fare rises from RPI+3 per cent to RPI+1 per cent, which is believed to have followed a submission to the Treasury from the new transport secretary, Justine Greening.
The Campaign for Better Transport said the lower increase was 'only a start' of the process of reforming rail fares.
Alexandra Woodsworth of CBT said: "This is very welcome news. We know from our Fair Fares Now campaign just how unpopular these rises were among passengers, particularly at a time when household budgets are so under pressure.
"But this is only a start – we already have some of the highest commuter fares in Europe and the fares system is confusing and unfair. The Government's forthcoming review of ticketing must make rail fares simpler and fairer as well as cheaper."
The TSSA union warned that fares were still set to 'rocket' by more than 20 per cent over the next three years.
The union's recently-appointed general secretary Manual Cortes said: "Instead of mugging passengers and taking increases of 8.2 per cent, Mr Osborne prefers to pick their pockets and take an averge 6.2 per cent in January.
"He thinks by playing Fagin instead of Bill Sykes, he can win some plaudits from hard pressed passengers. He's wrong: these increases will still mean real hardship for millions of families.
"And in the South East, the average means some eye watering fare increases of more than 10 per cent, adding an extra £1,000 on long distance season tickets over the next three years."
Mr Cortes called on the government to go further by also scrapping the RPI + 3 per cent increases which are currently due to follow in 2013 and 2014, and to adopt the LibDem policy of RPI – 1 per cent instead.
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, England
So £700m + for a two station extrension in an area that ALREADY has rail stations like Battersea Park and Queensbridge Road that are both basically slums and neither of which togethger with Vauxhall rail and tube station (Victoria line) are to be made interchanges. Looks like Boris is a good Victorian!!
A much better and cheaper option and having seen how the South London Line extension to Clapham Junction will use an abandoned middle track at the station would be to extend the Overground on a new line ABOVE GROUND with new stations that would take in Battersea Park and Nine Elms and the join the main line to Waterloo at Vauxhall and terminate in the abandoned International platforms. So how much less would this scheme cost.
Fact is with £700 million it may be possible to make most if not all stations on the sub surface network step free and therefore benefit millions motre Londoners.
So why not allow London to choose which option it wants at next Mays Mayoral election?
As for electrification is time Gospel Oak to Barking was also done. One possibility would be to electrify the line and extend the service to Grays allowing C2C to remove Fenchurch Street to Grays shuttles and use the trains on longer distance Fenchurch Street via Grays services thus creating more capacity with no extra C2C trains!!
Tony Pearce, Reading, UK
Good economics say you invest in infrastructure during recessions. So 10 out of 10. Fares are a bit different though. You should price to avoid over-crowding. If certain trains are full fit to bust then you can legitamately raise the fares until the over-crowding decreases. Similar at times when you have empty seats you drop your prices. The aircraft industry do this pretty well. A flight can well be free (except for taxes) if they are less than 50% full, and 10x the normal fare if its booked at the last minute on a plane with only a few seats remaining. I don't believe in subsidising people who work in London, and want to commute. Its one of the reasons so many firms place themselves in the South.
T. Price., NOTTINGHAM, United Kingdom
Transpennine electrification? I think we've forgotten something havn't we Mr Osbourne, mmmmm?..........Midland Main Line?
How about getting the priorities right?
If i was a cynic i'd be thinking that the MML and East Midlands lines were doomed to closure with the lack of investment!