Rail projects in the Levelling Up Fund

[freddie1729]

Several rail projects have been allocated money from the levelling up fund. Are there any further details on what is needed to enable these to happen?

£50 million for Crossrail Cardiff. This will help deliver a new line between Cardiff Bay and Cardiff Central Station, improving travel for thousands of people who travel daily between the stations.

Nearly £50 million to create a direct train service linking Newquay, St Austell, Truro, and Falmouth alongside better walking and cycling access to stations

In Devon, there will be £13.5 million for a new railway station on the eastern edge of Okehampton - the West Devon Transport Hub - complete with high quality cycle facilities and EV charging points on site to better connect communities and promote active travel

Over £14 million will double the frequency of trains to Belmont, where we will see Europe’s leading oncology district grow in the coming years

 

[zwk500]

Fantastic work by the spin people there. How much of this hasn't already been announced?

 

[steamybrian]

Fantastic work by the spin people there. How much of this hasn't already been announced?

The difference is between making proposals in the past and now actually allocating money to start the projects.

 

[zwk500]

The difference is between making proposals in the past and now actually allocating money to start the projects.

How much of this money is actually new though? Last time they announced an investment programme something like 80% of it was already funded beforehand

 

[fgwrich]

I'm surprised (but a pleased) about Okehampton Parkway - Though I thought one of the key elements needed in place for that happen was GWR having enough stock to run enhanced service across the Devon Metro?

Now, it'll be interesting to see what design they come up with for the station, will it be a conventional single platform station (most likely I'd have thought) or include one of the various options prior to 2019 to allow a service up to Meldon?

 

[Magdalia]

The successful Peterborough Gateway bid should count as rail related.

Levelling Up cash to enhance Peterborough railway station

Almost £48m will be used to "unlock the vibrant city centre for local people", the government says.

www.bbc.co.uk

Almost £48m of government funding will be used to create a new gateway to a city.

The cash, from the Levelling Up fund, will be spent on building a new entrance and footbridge at Peterborough railway station.

 

[RPI]

I'm surprised (but a pleased) about Okehampton Parkway - Though I thought one of the key elements needed in place for that happen was GWR having enough stock to run enhanced service across the Devon Metro?

Now, it'll be interesting to see what design they come up with for the station, will it be a conventional single platform station (most likely I'd have thought) or include one of the various options prior to 2019 to allow a service up to Meldon?

Okehampton Parkway won't need any extra stock than what is used now.

 

[Sultan]

It was interesting watching Talking pictures earlier this week and stumbling on a programme about Waterloo Station and hearing them announcing the stops of a train to Cornwall. Included Andover West, Okehampton, Tavistock and a lot of others (after Exeter).

 

[northernbelle]

Okehampton Parkway won't need any extra stock than what is used now.

Indeed. In fact the current timetable is designed so as to allow the call to be made.

 

[RPI]

Indeed. In fact the current timetable is designed so as to allow the call to be made.

Thats not to say we don't want more stock for the Exmouth-Paignton, the short forms on that route are becoming quite tedious

 

[willgreen]

There's also funding for a feasibility study for Roseberry Parkway - just after Nunthorpe on the Whitby line. Not sure how it will receive it's half-hourly frequency and also how well used it'll be but seems to be an ambition of political leaders down there

 

[td97]

The Rochdale to Bury bid was unsuccessful. But the article states later that a tram-train project from Rochdale to Heywood is being funded separately.

BBC News - Rochdale MP criticises government for axing railway plans

Rochdale MP criticises government for axing railway plans

Ministers confirm a Bury to Rochdale rail line will no longer go ahead due to "cost challenges".

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Starmill]

How much of this money is actually new though? Last time they announced an investment programme something like 80% of it was already funded beforehand

There appears to be no new funding to cover the marginal operating expenditure for more trains on the Epsom Downs services either. That's more difficult too because that's ongoing rather than one-off, aa building the platform is.

Similar services in various parts of England have been permanently cut recently, including in Greater London and the Home Counties. Where does their confidence that there's money for this come from? There's no possibility that an increase in people travelling to Belmont is going to cover the marginal opex of additional train drivers and maintenance miles to run these services.

 

[DDB]

I think it is quite a good sign that so many local authorities are putting in bids based on rail and that some are being picked by central government. It suggest there is still support for rail at various levels of goverment. With a quick skim I l think there was only one road scheme picked.

 

[childwallblues]

Morecambe was allocated £50 million towards the cost of the Eden Project North to be built on the Promenade. The current station is a single platform with bus stop type waiting shelter. Whilst there is now a link road from the town to the M6 has been built not all the visitors to the town will be coming by road. Surely new station facilities will be needed and improvements to the line and improved timetable. The current one is basically an hourly 2 car shuttle from Lancaster with every other train coming from Leeds via the Little North Western.

 

[FGW_DID]

A post on Facebook by ’Witney Oxford Transport’ states that the Oxford City Council application for the ‘Cowley Branch Line Enabling’ has been unsuccessful.

 

[yorksrob]

It's a shame that some of these projects haven't got through, however with this, the Reversing Beeching project and the new stations funds, more seems to have been done to improve the coverage of the railway network in the last five years or so, than in the previous twenty.

 

[Taunton]

There appears to be no new funding to cover the marginal operating expenditure for more trains on the Epsom Downs services either. That's more difficult too because that's ongoing rather than one-off, aa building the platform is.

Similar services in various parts of England have been permanently cut recently, including in Greater London and the Home Counties. Where does their confidence that there's money for this come from? There's no possibility that an increase in people travelling to Belmont is going to cover the marginal opex of additional train drivers and maintenance miles to run these services.

It is extraordinary. Time was when the whole of a rail project, initial capital investment in building the line, the rolling stock, staffing, etc, was all covered by revenue from fares then received, from the times when these were just pennies. Gradually it got down, however, to where the substantial initial investment all had to come from public funds. And now it seems all the operating costs as well are somehow not covered by the fares either (let us remind ourselves these are some of the highest in Europe). On a project where the whole justification is in the large numbers, train-sized loads, who will now be travelling. One wonders where it all goes.

 

[scrapy]

Morecambe was allocated £50 million towards the cost of the Eden Project North to be built on the Promenade. The current station is a single platform with bus stop type waiting shelter. Whilst there is now a link road from the town to the M6 has been built not all the visitors to the town will be coming by road. Surely new station facilities will be needed and improvements to the line and improved timetable. The current one is basically an hourly 2 car shuttle from Lancaster with every other train coming from Leeds via the Little North Western.

The current station is 2 platforms and there is enough capacity on the branch to run trains at least every 20 minutes. The problem lies with paths on the WCML. I could see the 2 car being upped to a 4 car, and a business case for electrification of the branch.

Totally agree that the station needs some investment in facilities, it's not very welcoming.

 

[simonw]

It is extraordinary. Time was when the whole of a rail project, initial capital investment in building the line, the rolling stock, staffing, etc, was all covered by revenue from fares then received, from the times when these were just pennies. Gradually it got down, however, to where the substantial initial investment all had to come from public funds. And now it seems all the operating costs as well are somehow not covered by the fares either (let us remind ourselves these are some of the highest in Europe). On a project where the whole justification is in the large numbers, train-sized loads, who will now be travelling. One wonders where it all goes.

A substantial number of branch lines never covered their costs almost from the day they opened.

 

[Magdalia]

It is extraordinary. Time was when the whole of a rail project, initial capital investment in building the line, the rolling stock, staffing, etc, was all covered by revenue from fares then received, from the times when these were just pennies.

That's not correct. Most railways were built by the companies raising share capital, usually from local landowners and business owners. In financial terms the nearest modern example of "railway mania" in the 1840s was the "dotcom boom" of the 1990s. It is important to remember that most railway lines were built to carry freight not passengers. For local landowners and business owners railways were an opportunity to make money through more efficient transport of raw materials (especially coal) and the produce of farms and factories. Where lines were unsuccessful the investors lost money, with no dividends being paid and/or the shares being worth less than their original value.

 

[fandroid]

The Cornwall one is interesting. The Newquay branch service is astonishingly slow at present and really only provides customers with connections for Plymouth and London. Turning it into a railway that creates journey opportunities within Cornwall has been talked about for decades. Fingers crossed that something will come out of this.

Actually, having now read a bit of detail, I see that anyone going to/from Newquay still has to travel via Par. That's currently a 48 minute journey on the branch.

There's a direct bus from Newquay to Truro that only takes 3 minutes longer than the train does to Par. So, a train Newquay to Truro would take 20 minutes longer than the existing bus

 

[domcoop7]

The current station is 2 platforms and there is enough capacity on the branch to run trains at least every 20 minutes. The problem lies with paths on the WCML. I could see the 2 car being upped to a 4 car, and a business case for electrification of the branch.

Totally agree that the station needs some investment in facilities, it's not very welcoming.

I thought the second platform required use of a train-crew operated manual ground frame as it is for the single line Heysham branch? Can't imagine that would be a feasible long-term option for regular traffic.

 

[Starmill]

I thought the second platform required use of a train-crew operated manual ground frame as it is for the single line Heysham branch? Can't imagine that would be a feasible long-term option for regular traffic.

I don't think a train needs the ground frame to be used just to run to Morecambe and back out again, on either platform.

 

[RPI]

The Cornwall one is interesting. The Newquay branch service is astonishingly slow at present and really only provides customers with connections for Plymouth and London. Turning it into a railway that creates journey opportunities within Cornwall has been talked about for decades. Fingers crossed that something will come out of this.

Actually, having now read a bit of detail, I see that anyone going to/from Newquay still has to travel via Par. That's currently a 48 minute journey on the branch.

NR are in the process of removing some crossings though, the main issue on the branch that slows it down are the number of ungated crossings

 

[30907]

The current station is 2 platforms and there is enough capacity on the branch to run trains at least every 20 minutes. The problem lies with paths on the WCML. I could see the 2 car being upped to a 4 car, and a business case for electrification of the branch.

Totally agree that the station needs some investment in facilities, it's not very welcoming.

Agree, but it does at least have a proper booking office and waiting area.
I suspect Bare Lane LC will be an issue as well as WCML paths.

 

[Grumpy]

The Cornwall one is interesting. The Newquay branch service is astonishingly slow at present and really only provides customers with connections for Plymouth and London. Turning it into a railway that creates journey opportunities within Cornwall has been talked about for decades. Fingers crossed that something will come out of this.

The whole railway west of Exeter is astonishingly slow. Newquay to Exeter is approx 90 minutes by car but the train journey averages around 210 minutes. Needs major investment. Any tilting trains becoming surplus?

 

[Master29]

The Cornwall one is interesting. The Newquay branch service is astonishingly slow at present and really only provides customers with connections for Plymouth and London. Turning it into a railway that creates journey opportunities within Cornwall has been talked about for decades. Fingers crossed that something will come out of this.

Actually, having now read a bit of detail, I see that anyone going to/from Newquay still has to travel via Par. That's currently a 48 minute journey on the branch.

There's a direct bus from Newquay to Truro that only takes 3 minutes longer than the train does to Par. So, a train Newquay to Truro would take 20 minutes longer than the existing bus

Indeed. I can't quite see how they are going to achieve this with just 50 million. Certainly not with current stock.

 

[bearhugger]

There's also funding for a feasibility study for Roseberry Parkway - just after Nunthorpe on the Whitby line. Not sure how it will receive it's half-hourly frequency and also how well used it'll be but seems to be an ambition of political leaders down there

I live on this stretch of line and remembered this was proposed some time back so did a quick Google search and found the following TeessideLive Roseberry Parkway article dated 20th August 2019.

A brand new railway station with a park and ride could "revitalise" Teesside's transport links.

Plans have been drawn up for the interchange between Nunthorpe and Guisborough, which aims to ease road congestion and improve access to East Cleveland.
The new station - provisionally named Roseberry Parkway - will serve a population of around 70,000 people in East Cleveland, Guisborough, south Middlesbrough and parts of North Yorkshire.

And it's hoped it could divert as many as 30,000 car journeys a day away from the 'Marton Crawl'.

The 21st century facility will bring together trains, buses, cycle provision and parking to create an integrated hub serving Guisborough and East Cleveland, Stokesley and villages in North Yorkshire.
In addition to existing trains from and to Newcastle, Carlisle and Whitby, it is hoped services to Middlesbrough will increase to every half hour, while the number of daily trains travelling to Whitby could be doubled.

It's a joint project between Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough councils and the Tees Valley Combined Authority, who are working with train companies Arriva, Northern and Network Rail

The exact location of the new station has yet to be finalised, and an outline business case is due to be drawn up later this year.
Cllr Mary Lanigan, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, said: "This is fantastic news for the region and particularly for people living in the towns and villages of East Cleveland.

"One of our priorities is to improve public transport and provide better connectivity for everyone.

"There are some communities where this has been a challenge but this will help provide a vital link to help people to work, study or access key services, such as healthcare."
Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston said: "Good transport links are vital for a vibrant and successful local economy, and that's why it's essential that we work together to find the right solutions.

"This exciting proposal is a fantastic example of that approach, creating an innovative and forward-thinking facility that will improve access to employment, education, healthcare and other services."

Mr Preston said "in the long term" the plan could take an estimated 30,000 car trips off the ‘Marton Crawl'.

The two councils have been working together on a park and ride facility for a number of years, to solve the issues around the 'crawl' - a longstanding problem which sees heavy congestion on roads heading into Middlesbrough, especially running past James Cook University Hospital.

In December, a report to Middlesbrough's executive included the park and ride - alongside two new roads and a host of other improvements - as part of its ten-year transport plan.
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, Tory MP Simon Clarke, added: "This is a really exciting moment in our shared mission to deliver a lasting solution to traffic congestion in south Middlesbrough, while also improving transport links across East Cleveland.

"The opportunity to create a new station with both Park and Ride and proper interconnection with local bus services is a hugely ambitious scheme that I hope local people will warmly support.
"Both Andy and Mary have been a breath of fresh air since they became mayor and council leader respectively and we've resolved to work together to design the best possible scheme that makes it easier for people to get to school, work or the shops in our part of the Tees Valley."
Mr Clarke said they would also work with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen to help put pressure on the Government for more funding.

"But for today's announcement our message is clear: there's a plan, it's a good one and we're all looking forward to the next steps," he said.

 

[yorksrob]

I live on this stretch of line and remembered this was proposed some time back so did a quick Google search and found the following TeessideLive Roseberry Parkway article dated 20th August 2019.

There needs to be something done about the inadequate frequency on the Whitby route.

This is the elephant in the room that should have been sorted out with the Potash mine funding.