DfT plans railway upgrades across England and Wales

This is in addition to £5.2bn of projects already committed to in the same period for Crossrail, Thameslink and electrification between London and Cardiff, Manchester to Liverpool and Preston and across the Pennines.

According to the DfT, the new projects will provide capacity for 120,000 more daily commutes in and out of London and 20,100 extra daily commutes across Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and other cities, and will include the following:

In response to the announcement, the Office of Rail Regulation, a non-ministerial department operationally independent of central government, released the following statement: ‘The government’s plan for the railways between 2014 and 2019 sets out a massive programme of investment towards achieving a world-class rail service, underlining the importance of rail in economic growth and connectivity across England and Wales.

‘We now need to ensure that the plan is affordable and to work with the rail industry to set out in detail how it can be delivered. Fundamental in our role will be ensuring that all those involved in delivering the plan work together to make every penny count and achieve the best possible value for money for passengers and taxpayers.’