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.

Related Content

  • April 16, 2020
    Hyperloop: from sci-fi to transport policy
    The future is here. While it has long looked like something from a sci-fi movie, Graham Anderson investigates a technology whose time might have come.
  • January 28, 2016
    MTC awards funding to modernise Bay Area transit systems
    San Francisco’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has allocated US$494 million to help more than 20 Bay Area transit agencies replace or rehabilitate aging buses, ferries, rail cars, tracks and bridges; update safety, control and communications systems; install new fare-collection equipment; maintain services for elderly and disabled passengers; and make other capital improvements. The commitment includes US$447 million of federal transportation funds, supplemented by US$47 million of revenues fr
  • February 23, 2015
    Report: International freight transport to quadruple by 2050
    International Transport Forum’s (ITF) Transport Outlook 2015, presented in January 2015 at the OECD headquarters in Paris, France, examines the development of global transport volumes and related CO2 emissions and health impacts through to 2050. It examines factors that can affect supply and demand for transport services and focuses on scenarios illustrating potential upper and lower pathways, discussing their relevance to policy making. It presents an overview of long-run scenarios for the development of g
  • March 17, 2016
    Inland waterways can de-stress city roads
    David Crawford looks at an under-utilised solution for city-centre deliveries. The use of rivers and canals for moving freight is a well-established mode in North Western Europe, where it can take advantage of an intensively developed network. In the Netherlands, 40% of the total volume of goods transported internally goes by water; the figure for Flanders (the neighbouring Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) is 11.5%.