4 September 2013
Rail industry needs to get its act together to sort out West Coast bottleneck
Transform Scotland publishes response to consultation on Network Rail's plans
Transform Scotland [1] has today (Wednesday 4th) called for the UK rail industry to get its act together on the long-overdue improvement required at a key bottleneck on the West Coast Main Line. Transform Scotland have called for the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) to allow Network Rail to bring forward plans for sorting out Carstairs Junction. The call forms part of Transform Scotland's submission to the ORR's consultation on Network Rail's outputs and funding for 2016-19. [2] [3] Transform Scotland have also highlighted other issues with several rail services in Scotland which should be given attention.
Transform Scotland spokesperson Paul Tetlaw [4] said:
"The junction at Carstairs has suffered from severe speed restrictions for more than a generation. It is simply unacceptable that trains on one of Britain's key long-distance routes are slowed to a crawl. The UK rail industry needs to get its act together to deliver this low-cost improvement to this long-standing bottleneck.
"This should be a top priority project and must not be deferred by any plans for a new higher speed line between Edinburgh and Glasgow, such as those proposed by the Scottish Government late last year. These plans are merely at a proposal state and are likely to take a decade or more to come to fruition. Making improvements now to the key rail route between Glasgow and London must take precedence over tentative plans that would benefit rail travellers only in the long-term."
Transform Scotland have for some years highlighted the need to improve the very slow line speeds at Carstairs Junction, an essential point of connection for trains from Edinburgh and Glasgow to the south. Trains from Edinburgh to Birmingham and Manchester suffer a 5 minute time penalty through the 15 mph speed restriction at the junction, while Edinburgh to Glasgow trains suffer in a similar manner.
In its response Transform Scotland also makes views known on the failure to include proposals for the electrification of the Edinburgh South Suburban Railway and clear plans to improve Scottish inter-city routes.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Transform Scotland is the national sustainable transport alliance, bringing together rail, bus and shipping operators, local authorities, national environment and conservation groups, businesses and local transport groups - see <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/members.aspx> for details.
[2] The consultation is available at <http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/consultations/draft-determination.php>.
[3] Transform Scotland's response is available at <ORR consultation response>.
[4] Paul is a current Board member, and former Chair, of Transform Scotland.
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