Lord Adonis outlines Bristol to London railway plans
Transport secretary Lord Adonis has pledged disruption will be kept to a minimum while the Bristol to Paddington railway line is electrified.
Work on the £1-billion scheme will begin virtually immediately and take about eight years.
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Transport secretary Lord Adonis says work on the Bristol to London electrification will take eight years
It will also involve improvements to signalling, meaning more trains will be able to run along the 118-mile route.
Lord Adonis said: "There is a big gain for passengers because it will mean cheaper, faster and more reliable trains.
"But there will also be a big gain for taxpayers because the operating costs will be much lower.
"This is partly due to the fact that electricity is a much cheaper fuel than diesel and there will be less wear and tear on the tracks because electric trains are lighter."
The prospect of electrifying the Bristol to London railway line has been nothing but a pipedream for decades. But Lord Adonis said from the taxpayers' point of view, it made sense because of the lower running costs.
And he said the work would create hundreds of jobs, helping the economy.
The electrified line will also cut journey times between Temple Meads and Paddington by 12 minutes.
He said: "Governments have taken a very short-term approach to transport investment during the post-war years.
"While most of Europe was actively engaged in electrifying its main lines, we adopted a partial approach, which meant only a few lines were upgraded.
"There has also been a massive backlog of essential repairs and maintenance which needed to be carried out after years of neglect.
"This work is now largely complete, which has opened up the prospects of going ahead with a number of long-term investment projects."
He said that electrification would run as far as Bristol Temple Meads but trains which continue to Weston- super-Mare and beyond to Exeter will be a hybrid diesel/electric version that can take advantage of the electrified track.
Lord Adonis said new electric trains would mean that existing rolling stock would be diverted to other routes to help ease overcrowding on busy peak-hour commuter routes.
He said electric trains were much "greener" because of their much lower carbon footprint.
Lord Adonis said Network Rail would try to keep disruption to existing services as low as possible while upgrading was carried out.
But he said upgrading in the Severn Tunnel would inevitably cause some disruption.
The work on the line originally designed by Brunel will involve installing hundreds of miles of overhead cables as well as alterations to bridges, tunnels and stations.
The Great Western route is currently only electrified for a short distance from Paddington to Heathrow Airport. Of the entire network, only 40 per cent is electrified.
This includes most of the South East and the line from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The electrified upgrade will go as far as Swansea.
Lord Adonis said: "It is essential that we invest in our railways now and over the longer term.
"This is the biggest electrification programme for a generation and a vital part of our rail investment and carbon reduction strategies."
7 Comments
by Naz Nurburger, Easton in Gordano
Saturday, July 25 2009, 2:27AM
“Cheaper trains, eh, mi'lord? Oh yeah, THAT'S going to happen”
by wibble, platform 13
Friday, July 24 2009, 11:55AM
“Derek,
read what i said again - at no point did I didn't say or imply that electrification will cost very little, or presume that the electricity will be cheap.
I don't think any energy will be cheap in the future, although relative to other fuel sources, I believe oil based energy sources will become more expensive as supplies deplete.
As for the cost of the rolling stock, this will be the planned case of replacing current aging power units. The HST units that run on this line were built in the 70's and are getting very long in the tooth. Admittedly there is the one off cost building the infrastructure but occasionally you've got to do these things otherwise nothing would ever get built.
I'm no expert - but the general consensus is that in the long term - electrification is the better option for the main line railways.”
by derek, Nuremburg
Friday, July 24 2009, 10:56AM
“Wibble.I take it by your comment that running will cost very little?I presume that the electricity will be cheap,and all the new rolling stock will cost very little to build!this is all extra to the cost of actually electrifing the line.All this effort will get you to Paddington approx 10 mins faster than the Kings and Castles did over sixty years ago.This is progress?”
by Pogo the Clown, .
Friday, July 24 2009, 10:49AM
“~sigh~
I'd give my right arm to be called "Lord Adonis".”
by wibble, Didcot Power Station
Friday, July 24 2009, 9:38AM
“This has nothing to do with speed, comfort and pricing. This is to bring this 'ahem UKs flagship line' into the 21st century ... 50 years after the West Cost Main Line was electrified and 30 years after the East Coast Main Line was electrified.
Having trains carry their own diesel to run is expensive and reliant on one depleting fuel source oil.
Electrification allows the power source to be external making the trains lighter and the electricity can be supplied from a number of sources. Anyway it's nice to see the West joining the rest of the country in the 21st century.
One of the welcome additional benefits is that the trains will be quicker, hopefully more comfortable. As for the prices ... we'll wait and see on that one.”
by Richard, Bristol
Friday, July 24 2009, 9:18AM
“This train route is a complete joke. It was arguably quicker to reach London from Bristol in the time of Brunel than it is today. This should be the UK's flagship line, an example of efficient train transport on behalf of the UK; Brunel designed this line and today it is pathetic! Season tickets are many times too expensive, the same journey distance from Swindon to London v Brighton to London is up to 5 times more expensive during commuter traffic in the mornings and evenings and yet again we have First running this service.
This will not be cheaper in the long run so people should use National Express buses where prices start from £1 each way and seats are both comfortable and guaranteed!”
by derek, Nuremburg
Friday, July 24 2009, 8:46AM
“I think I commented on this before but can anyone explain how paying one billion pounds to save 12 minutes is justified?I have travelled on this journey by IC125 and found it perfectly comfortable.As for cheaper fares,how can he say this and keep a straight face!We cant arm our troops,cant house the homeless,etc,etc.Cant go on,words fail me!”