Great Western Main Line electrification - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[paul7575]

Why would  they [319s] need shoes? There'll be wires to Abbey Wood.  Not likely to be relevant anyway though.  What is a valid point is that the Crossrail fleet will have to be increased if it is used to Reading, as it will have been sized exactly for the original planned timetable.

Paul

[paul7575]

IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) looks like it's gone to Hitachi, with the factory at Newton Aycliffe.

It went to Hitachi ages ago surely?  

I think it's fair to say that the Foster review created reasonable doubt, at the very least.

Agreed, but contracturally Hitachi were always preferred bidder.

Paul

[Electric train]

It was decided a while ago that the Crossrail Abbey Wood branch would be third rail to keep the costs down

[Chris from Nailsea]

Hammond's statement in full is transcribed on the Railway Eye blog. I'm not going to copy and paste because it's quite long, but you can find it here.

For completeness, it's also available on the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) website, at http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/speechesstatements/statements/hammond20110301  

[IndustryInsider]

We'll see how today's announcement shakes out over the coming months, but overall a hugely positive day of announcements for the railway industry.

No mention of the MML^» (Midland Main Line. - about) and building of a new pantograph fitted carriage for the Class 222's?  Was that all ill-founded rumour, or is there a further announcement to be made?

[Zoe]

No mention of the MML^» (Midland Main Line. - about) and building of a new pantograph fitted carriage for the Class 222's?  Was that all ill-founded rumour, or is there a further announcement to be made?

HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) will remain in service on the MML for now.  A decision on the MML is dependent on the outcome of the HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) consultation.  It should also be noted that bi-mode IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) units are future possibility for Westcountry services so there would then be no need for a 222 cascade.

[JayMac]

Looking back to the first post on this thread in July 2009, I have to say that there is little difference in the electrification plans as announced then excepting that Cardiff is in from the start.

So, should the coalition Government be getting all the plaudits here? We also owe a great deal of thanks to Andrew Adonis.

[Zoe]

We still don't know the exact form the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) will take though.  Either the original EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) with generator car concept or the more recent underfloor engine DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) with pantograph to power the traction motors when under the wires plan.  The future of the Westcountry services is also still undecided long term.

[JayMac]

I was pointing out that the electrification plans are little changed. No mention of the IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) rolling stock in the OP^▸ (Original Poster / topic starter).

One major change in the IEP side of things is the number of jobs being created at Newton Aycliffe. Agility originally announced 2500 jobs in February 2009. That number has dropped to 500 following today's announcement.

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

London-Cardiff rail electrification, but not to Swansea

A ^1bn electrification of the main rail line between London and Cardiff is to go ahead, it has been confirmed. However, the Welsh Assembly Government had been lobbying the Westminster coalition to electrify the Great Western line as far as Swansea. But the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) government said it had found "no evidence of a pattern of demand" and trains will switch to diesel power between Cardiff and Swansea from 2017.

Electrifying the valleys commuter lines remains a future possibility.

A plan to electrify the line was announced by the previous Labour government in 2009. Ministers in the assembly government were pressing the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in Westminster to stick to the plan. A decision on whether to electrify the line was postponed last November.

Supporters say electrification could cut journey times from Cardiff to London by about 20 minutes, and argue electric trains are cleaner and cheaper.

In a statement to MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament), Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said he had looked carefully at the arguments in favour of electrifying the line as far as Swansea. He said the business case was heavily dependent on the frequency of service.

'No evidence'

"Services between London and Swansea currently operate at a frequency of only one train an hour off-peak," he said. "There is no evidence of a pattern of demand that would be likely to lead imminently to an increase in this frequency. Consequently, I regret to say that there is not, at present, a viable business case for electrification of the main line between Cardiff and Swansea."

Trains will switch automatically to diesel power as they leave Cardiff.

Mr Hammond said that because of speed limits dictated by the geometry of the line "there would be no time saving benefits from electrifying the line from Cardiff to Swansea".

A plan to electrify the Great Western line from London to Berkshire and Oxfordshire has already got the go-ahead.

Mr Hammond said London-Cardiff journey times would come down to 1hr 42 min, while 22 minutes would be saved off London-Bristol journeys.

Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan said the announcement was vital to the recovery of the Welsh economy and that the case for electrification to Swansea remained under review. She said her department will work with the assembly government on a business case to electrify commuter lines north of Cardiff to Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, and to Penarth and Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan.

'Economic lifeline'

"On St David's Day, this is excellent news for all parts of south and west Wales," she said. Mrs Gillan said the previous government had 13 years to electrify the line "but failed to do anything beyond headline-grabbing stunts".

But Labour claimed businesses and passengers living west of the Welsh capital had suffered a "St David's Day disappointment" as the electrification would not extend as far as Swansea.

Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said he was pleased the UK government had recognised the strength of the case to electrify lines in the valleys, but was disappointed Swansea had been left out of today's announcement.

"This is a blow to our aspirations to see economic benefits flow to the whole of Wales and will be a particularly damaging to the south west of Wales," Mr Jones said. He told BBC Radio Wales it would be more cost effective to include Swansea at the same time as Cardiff, rather than trying to upgrade the line in two stages.

First Great Western managing director Mark Hopwood said: "This is great news for our customers and the railway industry as a whole as it will bring reductions in journey time and a more reliable, environmentally friendly service."

CBI Wales director David Rosser welcomed "an excellent announcement", adding: "The Great Western main line is an essential economic lifeline for the south Wales economy. Today's announcement from the UK government will reinforce Cardiff as a 21st Century city, enabling it to play a key role in creating a more balanced UK economy with wealth creation more evenly spread across the nations and regions of the UK."

Although it was disappointing that the scheme would not go as far as Swansea, he added: "It would have been completely unacceptable for Wales to have been left out of the UK's rail modernisation plans".

Cardiff council leader Rodney Berman - who lobbied for electrification of the Great Western line with Swindon and Bristol councils - said: "Today's decision has followed a lot of effort stressing the benefits electrification will bring."

Plaid Cymru parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd said: "Labour left Wales as the only country in Europe alongside Albania and Moldova without a single mile of electrified track."

Peter Black, Lib Dem AM for south Wales west, said the announcement was a big step forward, but added: "This decision sends the wrong message to business investors about the south west Wales economy."

Also included with the story is a video news report as seen earlier on BBC Wales Today.

[grahame]

Plaid Cymru parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd said: "Labour left Wales as the only country in Europe alongside Albania and Moldova without a single mile of electrified track."

Andorra?  Vatican? 

[Timmer]

Looking back to the first post on this thread in July 2009, I have to say that there is little difference in the electrification plans as announced then excepting that Cardiff is in from the start.

From what I can see the only difference is Swansea is removed from receiving the wires. Gosh that's going to save soooooo much money in the grand scheme of things isn't it...not!

Whats the bet that in the end the Network Rail electrification team will continue beyond Cardiff to Swansea because all of a sudden the money has been found to finish the job. You heard it here first if it does happen 

[JayMac]

Plaid Cymru parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd said: "Labour left Wales as the only country in Europe alongside Albania and Moldova without a single mile of electrified track."

Andorra?  Vatican? 

Northern Ireland?

[Zoe]

Northern Ireland?

That would count as part of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

[JayMac]

The Plaid AM referred to Wales as a country, so Northern Ireland is a fair comparison.