Network Rail To Invest £38bn In Upgrade It Services

Millions of people across the country are set to benefit from an ambitious five-year £38bn spending and investment programme that will transform today's railway giving passengers more trains, more seats, reduced congestion and bigger, better stations.

The five-year plan will see the busiest parts of Britain’s rail network targeted making a very real difference to millions of people's lives and providing a significant boost to the economy.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "A key part of this government's long term economic plan is investing in world class infrastructure. That is why we are putting record amounts of government funding into our railways over the next five years. That investment will generate growth, create jobs and boost business while delivering faster journeys, greater comfort and better punctuality for passengers across the UK."

The people of Devon and Cornwall also heard some good news today as Network Rail confirmed that their railway will be reconnected to Britain’s network on 4 April following two months of tremendous efforts by hundreds of railway engineers in, and around, Dawlish. A massive landslip, involving the collapse of 20,000 tonnes of cliff-face near Teignmouth on 4 March, had threatened the planned opening.

Today, more than 1.5bn passenger journeys are made by rail each year and by 2019 the railway will be carrying more people than at any time in its history. The rail industry's five-year plan will:

• Provide capacity for 170,000 extra seats for commuters at peak time

• Shorten journeys and provide for hundreds more daily services between the cities of the north (Northern Hub)

• Electrify more than 850 miles of railway and see whole new fleets of electric trains

• Transform hundreds of stations around the country including London Bridge, Manchester Victoria, Birmingham New Street and Glasgow Queen Street.

(CVS/CD)