Skip to main content

Closer running and investment to boost capacity of Britain’s railways, says new report

Closer running to increase the frequency of train services, alongside investment in new railway infrastructure, are recommendations to boost UK rail capacity in the new report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Transportation Research Laboratory (TRL). The report, Increasing capacity; putting Britain’s railways back on track, makes recommendations to meet growing rail passenger demand, which is forecast to double by the 2040s. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers and TRL are offering s
January 4, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Closer running to increase the frequency of train services, alongside investment in new railway infrastructure, are recommendations to boost UK rail capacity in the new report by the 5025 Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Transportation Research Laboratory (TRL).

The report, Increasing capacity; putting Britain’s railways back on track, makes recommendations to meet growing rail passenger demand, which is forecast to double by the 2040s. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers and TRL are offering sustainable solutions for the challenges to ease crowding, improve punctuality, and unlock capacity.

The new report highlights changes already being implemented and makes four key recommendations for the rail industry and Government to further increase the UK railway capacity urgently:

It recommends speeding up new technologies already being worked on and pioneering closer-running to increase the frequency of train services and fast-track the development of secure train-to-train communication systems.

The report also proposes implementing the solutions already developed and making the most of technology like REPOINT for more reliable, quicker-operating sets of points and SUSTRAIL for faster freight.

It also suggests creating the next batch of new solutions, particularly post-Brexit, and ramping up British R&D investment to replace EU funding for new solutions, coupled with stimulation of matched private sector commitment to create better UK railways.

It calls for investment in the delivery of known solutions to relieve bottlenecks, including building new railway infrastructure for capacity (new high speed lines, electrification, local connectivity) and other well-proven techniques like flyovers and shorter signalling sections.

According to the report, the UK railway system carries more than twice as many passengers as 20 years ago; passengers per km have increased by 116 per cent and freight tonnage per km 34 per cent. Rail passenger demand is predicted to double again by the 2040s.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Developments in smarter multi-modal fare paynment
    February 2, 2012
    This section pulls together all the multi-modal topics in each issue. Subject matter will include smartcards; ticketing and payment systems; passenger information systems; fleet management for buses, trains and light rail; park and ride systems; on-line access to real-time information via Internet portals
  • Jeddah juggles transport needs of residents, pilgrims and tourists
    December 22, 2015
    Mass pilgrimages, new tourists and a growing population lead Jeddah to seek some smart transport solutions as David Crawford finds out. Rationalising traffic movement and public transport in a major Middle Eastern business and tourist centre that is also a gateway for millions of religious pilgrims every year is the challenge for the 20-year Jeddah Strategic Plan and the Jeddah Public Transport Programme (JPTP) it spawned. The latter is costed at US$8bn.
  • Growth of embedded car OEM telematics subscribers
    December 22, 2016
    According to a new research report by Berg Insight, the number of telematics service subscribers using embedded systems will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.4 per cent from 26.5 million subscribers at the end of 2015 to 170.2 million subscribers at the end of 2021. In addition, Berg Insight forecasts that shipments of embedded car OEM telematics systems worldwide will grow from almost 13.8 million units in 2015 at a CAGR of over 25.1 per cent to reach 52.8 million units in 2021. In Eur
  • FLIPPER - improving the provision of flexible transport services
    February 2, 2012
    John Nelson and Brian Masson, Centre for Transport Research, University of Aberdeen, UK, describe the FLIPPER initiative which is intended to improve the provision of flexible transport services