Off Topic Northern Powerhouse...

Network Rail upgrade delayed by government

The government says it will delay or cut back a number of modernisation projects planned for Network Rail.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin says rising costs and missed targets make the £38.5bn plan untenable.

He blamed Network Rail, saying it should have foreseen the improvements would cost more and take longer.

Labour said it had warned the government needed to change how the railways were run but had "dithered" over taking action.

Network Rail said the plan, which was launched last year as the "largest modernisation of the railways since Victorian times", was too ambitious.

Network Rail controls 2,500 stations as well as tracks, tunnels and level crossings.

The key routes affected are:

• Trans-Pennine: York-Manchester, shelved
• Midland Mainline: York-Sheffield, shelved
• Great Western Mainline, go ahead

Mr McLoughlin said electrification work would be "paused" on the Midland mainline and on the Trans-Pennine route between Leeds and Manchester.

But he said that "electrification of the Great Western Line is a top priority and I want Network Rail to concentrate its efforts on getting that right".

He also announced Network Rail's chairman, Richard Parry-Jones, would leave the group after his three-year term and told MPs none of the executive directors would get a bonus for the past year.

Mr Parry-Jones will be replaced by Sir Peter Hendy, the current commissioner of Transport for London.

Satisfaction falling
The announcement comes as the latest rail passenger satisfaction survey is released.

Travellers in London and south-east England are the least happy with their service,according to Transport Focus (formerly Passenger Focus).

The proportion of passengers satisfied has fallen from 82% last year to 80% this year.

Satisfaction on First Hull Trains was highest at 96%, while Southern was the lowest at 72%.

Michael Roberts, director general of the Rail Delivery Group which represents train operators and Network Rail, said: "Too often many passengers are not getting the service they deserve, and for this we are sorry.

"The survey reflects the challenges we face to run trains punctually on an increasingly busy network."

'Broken promises'
The shadow transport secretary, Michael Dugher, said the government had known the upgrade could not go ahead as scheduled: "We have been warning time and time again there needs to be fundamental changes in how our railways are run. You spent the election campaign repeating promises you knew you would break after the election.

"Ministers may try to shift all the blame to Network Rail, but this happened on the government's watch and the responsibility for this mess lies squarely with the government."

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: "This... follows years of above-inflation fares increases, crowded carriages and engineering works. Passengers have put up with much inconvenience in the expectation of a better, more reliable, and more comfortable rail service.

"What passengers will want now is a clear plan of action, setting out exactly when Network Rail will start to deliver some of the promised improvements."

'Significant challenges'

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The chief executive of Network Rail, Mark Carne, told the BBC the challenges of delivering myriad improvement projects while still running a railway seven days a week were simply overwhelming.

"Over the last year, it has become obvious that the challenges of operating, maintaining and enhancing the railway are significant," he said.

"I think it's time to level with the public and say that some of these extraordinary projects that we absolutely need are going to take longer and are going to cost more than we originally thought.

"We are going to take the summer to re-evaluate the extension of the programme - we need to do that properly with the Department for Transport and, of course, looking at the impact on trains as well."

He said it would not be possible to estimate the impact of the delays on the final cost.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33270586

 

Not a surprise really
It's a completly Londoncentric government that are showing their true colours.
The money probably resurface to pay for House of Commons and crossrail

 

Scrap HS2 and use the cash to upgrade the present system. HS2 is a white elephant and not needed.

 

HS3 - Liverpool to Hull.

 

The Government have known about this for months.

They should have announced it in the new year.

They didn't.

They waited until now.





After the election.

 

They re slashing like bloody hell just weeks after getting in.
The voters gave them the mandate and it looks like it's gonna be a lot more to come more quickly than most thought.
Then come the next election they'll give a bit back and people will fall for it.
Exactly what I expected.
How long before the subsides disappear for the green energy projects around the Humber

 

I think they've already announced that they're ending early. April next year, I think.

 

Was that in the past few weeks ???

 

Yeah, last week.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33177025

 

I wonder what effect that will gave on the proposed new green energy plant that was planned for Cleveland street/ Chapman street corner

 

Just goes to show these ideas of devolved power don't work.....so much for Manchester controlling more of what the money in the area is spent on or bringing in more national funding.

When will people wake up & see this idea of local councils in this area joining together to get the same results......it just gives central government someone else to blame.

This idea of a "greater Hull" combining Hull CC, ERYC. NLC & NELC under one council.........that's what the oh so hated Humberside was all about.....none of the South Bank authorities want any control passing North of the river & in all honesty ERYC don't want to be involved in anything involving HCC......they share a boundary but have little else in common........it will NEVER WORK

 

That's not the only worry.....many European & non European companies who use the UK as a gateway are expressing their concerns over the renegotiation of our membership of the EU along with a prospect of a near certain exit vote is already affecting investment......apparently Toyota, Honda & BMW are holding back on planned investment in the car industry until after any vote

 

The trouble is that people are going to get a vote on it who ain't got a clue about these sort of things.
I don't blame some of the euro zone countries annoyance at our attitude.
We seem to want our cake and eat it

 

I voted for Yorkshire First. Just sayin'...

 

HS2 should be scrapped and the money should be spent on HS3.

 

That says onshore wind farms - the wind turbines being built in Hull are for offshore.

 

They are referring to the Trans-Pennine electrification as being 'Leeds to Manchester and Liverpool'.

i.e. - Hull is slipping out of view.

 

You may well be right. I seem to recall that that was the first announcement (Leeds to Manchester/Liverpool) but then, after the uproar about Hull's exclusion, the electrification (Hull to Selby? Hull to Leeds?) was announced.
I assumed we had been included in the Trans-Pennine scheme.
I was perhaps mistaken.

 

The Hull-Selby electrification was supposed to be the next project after the Leeds-Liverpool project. I have a friend who works for Network Rail as a project manager & they were told earlier this week (just before the announcement yesterday) that all of these projects have now been put on hold. It now seems unlikely that the Selby-Hull line will be electrified this side of 2030