Rail funding announced in 2012 Budget

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George Osborne today announced £130 million worth of funding for Network Rail’s Northern Hub scheme in the Budget 2012.

Mr Osborne said:

“Network Rail will extend the Northern Hub, adding to the electrification of the Transpennine rail route, by upgrading the Hope Valley line between Manchester and Sheffield – and improving the Manchester to Preston and Blackpool, and Manchester to Bradford lines.”

Network Rail has said the Northern Hub project will provide 700 extra trains a day for 3.5 million more people to travel by rail every year and allow for the doubling of capacity into the Trafford Park freight terminals.

This will build on previously announced investments to electrify the Transpennine railway route from Manchester to Leeds and build the Ordsall Chord between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria stations.

Mr Osborne also said the Government is ‘working with the railway industry, Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor of London to consider further investments to improve rail journeys into and within London, including longer trains and increased capacity at stations’.

It is thought that further details will be announced in summer 2012.

The Government will also consider whether ‘direct intervention is required to improve mobile coverage for rail passengers’.

Following today’s announcement, Network Rail chief executive David Higgins said:

“Today’s announcement of further funding for the initial stages of the Northern Hub is a welcome show of confidence in rail bringing benefits to passengers as well as driving economic growth.

“To realise the project’s total value of £4bn to the Northern economy and create between 20,000 and 30,000 new jobs, the final stages of funding will need to be supported in the rail budgets to be announced later this year.”

 

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