Three sections of railyway lines in the North West are to be electrified in a major investment scheme aimed at improving reliability and cutting journey times.
Greener, more comfortable and reliable journeys are promised by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis with the plans for three major rail routes.
The £200m electrification programme, combined with other improvements to track and signalling on the lines, will improve journeys between key towns and cities across the region.
Along with the £1.1bn electrification plans involving London to Swansea and Liverpool to Manchester lines announced in July, this will mean two thirds of all national passenger rail travel will be on electrified routes.
The programme announced today includes electrifying:
* The 15 mile line between Huyton and Wigan, allowing electric trains to operate between Liverpool and Wigan via St Helens;
* The 25 mile route between Manchester and Euxton Junction, allowing electric trains to operate between Manchester and Preston, via Bolton; and.
* The 17 mile route between Blackpool North and Preston, allowing electric trains to operate to Blackpool North from Liverpool and Manchester.
Government investment in electrification, totalling up to £1.3bn, will boost travel, the economy and the environment and help create a more modern railway. The combined impact of all these new electrification programmes will be to increase the proportion of all electric train journeys in the UK from 60% of journeys to 67%.
Lord Adonis said: "These improvements will be of great benefit to passengers in the North West. Electric trains are not only quicker, but quieter, smoother and more reliable than diesels.
"Electrification creates the opportunity to carry more passengers thanks to longer trains on these busy routes and to allow some 30 year old ‘Pacer’ diesel trains to be retired. It also allows existing diesels to be re-deployed to provide longer trains on busy routes elsewhere.
"It is essential that we invest in our railways now and over the longer term. This is a further step in the biggest electrification programme in a generation and it’s a vital part of our rail investment and carbon reduction strategies. By 2017 over two-thirds of passenger rail will be on electrified routes.
"The Government continues to assess the case for other electrification projects, notably the Midland Main Line from London to Derby, Nottingham and Sheffield."
Electric trains are not only faster, more reliable and more comfortable, but they generate less carbon than their diesel counterparts. Electrification can help to lower the costs of operating the railway since electric trains are generally cheaper to run than diesels and inflict less wear on tracks. The electric trains will be cleaner, producing no emissions at their point of use and lower carbon emissions overall. Replacing existing diesel trains with longer electric trains will also deliver much needed extra capacity.
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