North-west awarded £84 million for rail network upgrades

North-west England’s rail network is to get a reliability boost following the government’s announcement of £84 million of infrastructure investment in the region.

Investment aims to help tackle congestion on the rail network, which is largely due to a bottleneck in Manchester city centre (the Castlefield Corridor), affecting services such as those via Manchester Airport that pass through the city-centre.

The funding will also allow development work to continue at four of Greater Manchester’s main stations (Piccadilly, Victoria, Oxford Road and Manchester Airport) and along the Castlefield Corridor where congestion is most severe.

Work is also already underway to extend platforms on services in Cumbria, with further platform extensions planned in the North-west, which will allow Northern Rail to operate longer trains and improve passenger capacity on the network. In addition, the investment will ensure the continued progress towards electrification of the Transpennine Route to Leeds that will pave the way for planned high-speed Northern Powerhouse Rail services.

Funding was announced by Rail Minister Wendy Morton MP at Manchester Victoria Station on 11th March.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:

“This £84 million investment will make trains more reliable for the people of Manchester and beyond and kicks off a decade’s worth of improvements across the region.

“The Transpennine Route Upgrade, the Integrated Rail Plan and Northern Powerhouse Rail will transform the lives of passengers across the region for generations to come.

“As we level up the country, we’re determined to use rail to boost local economies, create greener journeys and changes lives for the better.”

Dave Penney, passenger strategy director for Network Rail’s North West and Central region, said:

“Improving passenger journeys has been at the heart of the rail industry’s hard work to tackle congestion through Central Manchester and this major government investment will mean fewer delays and add 20% more peak-time seats from December 2022.

“Network Rail has worked with the whole industry as part of the Manchester Recovery Task Force on how to maximise this £84 million investment that promises to boost capacity and improve connectivity across the North of England as part of Britain’s rail recovery.”

Nick Donovan, Managing Director at Northern Trains, said:

“This investment will improve the infrastructure that will allow trains with more carriages to run through Manchester, benefiting the wider network and the thriving leisure economy of the North.

“Our customers returning to rail will have already noticed many improvements we have made in the last 2 years. These include better stations and new trains, and this project will further add to that improved experience.”