Transport for LondonDelivering a Sustainable Railway
Background
For the past two years we have been working closely with the Department for Transport (DfT) and Network Rail to identify ways of meeting London's future transport needs.
In autumn 2006 we published our conclusions in A rail strategy for London's future (PDF 1.11MB). This set out how we think the rail network could accommodate London's growth over the next 20 years.
On 24 July Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly MP published a White Paper 'Delivering a Sustainable Railway'. This aims to increase the capacity of the rail network by investing £10bn over the next five years.
How this affects London
The White Paper endorses the majority of our recommendations, including funding for the £5.5bn Thameslink programme which will deliver significant extra capacity by 2011 with final completion by 2015.
The scheme will provide:
- Longer platforms to accommodate 12-car trains
- A major infrastructure upgrade allowing for 24 trains per hour
Other TfL recommendations included in the White Paper will provide longer trains and/or infrastructure improvements for radial routes in London including:
- Southern inner suburban services into Victoria and London Bridge
- Cambridge and Peterborough services to King's Cross (as part of Thameslink)
- South West Trains suburban services to Waterloo
- West Anglia services to Liverpool Street
- South Eastern inner suburban services into London Bridge, Charing Cross and Victoria
The Mayor of London welcomed the announcement. He said: "Transport for London's Transport 2025 strategy predicted an increase of 40 per cent in demand for rail services in London by 2025. This announcement will deliver around 90 per cent of the needed capacity, and will do so by 2014."
The big picture
Two-thirds of all UK rail journeys start or finish in London, and Londoners account for 50 per cent of all UK rail journeys, so any improvements to the national infrastructure impact London directly.
National improvements outlined in the White Paper include:
- 1,300 new carriages to ease overcrowding in London and other cities. This extends the original pledge of 1000 carriages made in March 2007
- £200m to start work on a strategic freight network which will both help reduce congestion on roads and the environmental impact of moving goods
- £150m to modernise 150 stations across the country
