COMMENT
A rail strategy for the North of England
Transport Authorities across the North of England have commissioned a new rail strategy setting out a consensual vision and ambition for the coming decades. RTM talked to Euan Mackay from the consultant team at Steer Davies Gleave to find out more about the strategy.
T
he first ever Long Term Rail Strategy (LTRS) for the North of England is shortly to go out for consultation.
The document was commissioned on behalf of Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Integrated Transport Authorities for South and West Yorkshire (later joined by Merseytravel and Nexus), and drafted by Steer Davies Gleave.
As RTM went to press, the document was going through a political sign-off process across the Authorities before being put to the public, but we caught up with one of its authors, SDG Associate Euan Mackay, to find out more about the strategy’s themes and wider vision.
Big ambitions
Its central message is a startling one: that there are economic benefits totalling £50bn up for grabs, with Gross Value Added benefits to the North’s economy of £1bn a year, if the strategy’s targets and visions can be achieved. These are wide-ranging, but focus on a doubling of rail’s share of journeys and the creation of a much more connected and integrated network (see ‘The eight principles of an integrated network’ opposite in panel).
Mackay explained: “The North’s railway network has experienced decades of under-
investment, which is finally starting to be addressed. We’ve got some new routes being electrified, we’ve got the bottlenecks and missing links in Greater Manchester now being addressed [via the Northern Hub].
“There’s a very substantial rail network in the North with over 500 stations, but a very small market share – less than 3.7%, compared to the 4.3% average nationally.
“Rail demand is forecast to grow more strongly than for cars; increases of 6% by the mid-2020s are predicted. We’re also very mindful that this is a mixed-traffic railway, so freight is also very important.
“A near-doubling in freight tonne km from 2011-33 over the next two decades is predicted”, he said.
In planning for this future demand, the strategy has three over-arching objectives: supporting sustainable economic growth; enhancing the service quality and improving the appeal of rail, reducing environmental impact and carbon emissions; and improving efficiency and reducing costs per passenger carried to the public purse.
Integrating disparate networks The LTRS had its origins in the rail devolution
agenda, with Northern cities and transport bodies keen to play a bigger role in franchising.
With the reviews into franchising after the West Coast debacle, that agenda seems to have been on the backburner, with no firm Government commitment yet.
So the LTRS has been designed to be relevant no matter what happens with franchising, or whether there is a merger of the current Northern Rail and TransPennine Express services (though this does seem likely, especially since the franchising dates of the two have recently been aligned).
Mackay told us: “The key device shaping the LTRS is the creation of an integrated network out of the very separate routes and franchises that exist today. The network is disparate, limiting its potential to play its role.”
14 | rail technology magazine Jun/Jul 13
© Alvey & Towers
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