Skip to main content

UK rail passengers to benefit from new five-year plan

A route-by-route plan for how an ambitious five-year programme to invest US$63 billion in the UK’s railways will take shape has been unveiled. The programme, starting this week, will involve the largest modernisation of the railways since Victorian times, funding projects across the whole of the UK and building on the work that is already under way. The five-year plan for Network Rail’s new funding period, which started on 1 April 2014, will target the busiest parts of Britain’s rail network, providing
April 2, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
A route-by-route plan for how an ambitious five-year programme to invest US$63 billion in the UK’s railways will take shape has been unveiled. The programme, starting this week, will involve the largest modernisation of the railways since Victorian times, funding projects across the whole of the UK and building on the work that is already under way.
 
The five-year plan for 5021 Network Rail’s new funding period, which started on 1 April 2014, will target the busiest parts of Britain’s rail network, 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 5 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 Chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander said: “After years of neglect, the UK’s energy, road, rail, flood defence, communications and water infrastructure needs renewal, and as I set out in December, you name it, this government is building it. The government was the first to set out a clear, long term plan for infrastructure and we’re delivering it.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • LGA report forecasts introduction of road tolling
    November 27, 2012
    A report by the Local Government Association (LGA), the organisation representing councils in England and Wales, predicts road tolling or pay as you drive road pricing could be introduced by 2018. With traffic predicted to nearly double over the next 25 years, the LGA believes the Government will have to consider tolls or even pay as you drive road pricing to raise the money it needs.
  • EU mobility’s Covid escape route
    July 29, 2021
    European Union roads could be more resilient after the pandemic ends, thanks to the goal of creating a more integrated mobility network, says ERF’s José Diez
  • Smoothing the path to reducing traffic pollution
    October 22, 2014
    David Crawford reviews a new approach to traffic smoothing. A key objective for the Californian city of Bakersfield’s upgraded traffic operations centre (TOC), which opened in June 2014, is to help improve living conditions in a region with one of the worst air quality problems in the US. The TOC is speeding up the smoothing of traffic flows by delivering faster and better-informed traffic signal retiming and synchronisation.
  • DfT consults on future of Highways Agency
    October 30, 2013
    Prior to turning the UK Highways Agency into a government-owned company, the Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a consultation asking for the public’s views on the proposed structure and accountability of the new company, along with input on how the new watchdog, and a separate new organisation that will monitor the performance of the agency, should be run. Turning the Highways Agency into a government-owned company will improve efficiency and reduce running costs, with taxpayers expected to ben