Philip Hammond announces £5bn rail investment

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Transport secretary Philip Hammond announced a 10 year £5bn rail investment programme for the Great Western Main Line at Paddington station yesterday.

The investment will be the biggest shake up of the route since 1892, when broad gauge tracks were ripped up and the GWR replaced much of its rolling stock and outdated signalling.

At Paddington station, raising his arm towards the fourth span, which had been covered in scaffolding and a protective deck since 1996, Mr Hammond said : “It’s great to see this gem of a station revealed”

The next decade will see the route transformed with the current fleet of high speed trains replaced by Hitachi built bi-modal trains from 2016 and the introduction of ERTMS signalling, recently introduced on the Cambrian route, along with electrification of much of the Great Western territory.

Mr Hammond said he aims to; “Invest in a 21st century railway to support a 21st century economy”

He said that the upgrade of the route was a ‘prize that is absolutely worth the pain to get there’.

 

 

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