Britain’s rail companies have published a joint investment report for 2020, with the industry committing to delivering over 1,000 extra services a week for passengers and introducing 1,000 new carriages in 2021.

In Scotland, the £120million major redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street Station will be completed and the redevelopment of Aberdeen Station will begin.

In Wales, a £40 million train refurbishment programme will continue with 186 more services running on Sundays.

In the Midlands, a  new half-hourly service between St Pancras International and Corby will be introduced, 180 new trains with space for 50,000 additional passengers to and from Birmingham will start to run, and Wolverhampton Interchange will also open as part of a £150 million transport hub.

In East Anglia, a £1.4 billion investment in 169 new trains on Greater Anglia and a £27 million route upgrade allowing longer trains to run between Cambridge and King´s Lynn. Track upgrades will enable 10 extra freight trains per day to run to Felixstowe, removing up to 760 lorries from the road.

In the South West, quicker, more regular services following planned timetable change and £80 million upgrades of the sea wall in Dawlish.

In London and the South of England, 90 new trains on South Western Railway and construction will start on the £150 million upgrades of Gatwick Airport station.

The investment report builds upon the industry’s long-term plan to improve passenger and freight services to benefit customers, communities and the economy.

Significant progress has been made since the plan was published two years ago with more than 2,500 brand new carriages already introduced and over 4,000 extra services running each week, meaning improved journeys and better connecting communities across the country.

Further commitments made by operators since then mean that by the mid-2020s, over 11,300 extra trains a week will have been added to timetables, an overall increase of almost 10 per cent. This is alongside 8,000 new train carriages over the same period, an increase of 1,000 on previous plans and equivalent to replacing over half of the nation’s trains new for old. Passengers are also benefitting from hundreds of upgraded train carriages which are being refurbished like new.

This is because 98p of every £1 spent on tickets goes back into running and improving the railway, meaning money from fares is crucial to underpinning these improvements. With passenger numbers doubling in the last 20 years, money from fares now virtually covers the day-to-day cost of running the railway compared to a £2bn operating deficit in the late 1990s.

What did the officials say?

Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said:

“People want a better railway and we are investing in a long-term plan to make that happen. Next year, our passengers and the communities that rely on rail can expect more trains to more places and new carriages with more seats and better Wi-Fi. Those improvements will drive economic growth increase productivity and help set Britain up for success in the long term.”

Mike Cherry, National Chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said:

“Small businesses rely on Britain’s railway to meet clients, attend meetings and ensure their staff can get to work, so investment in the network is very welcome. Rail services need to be reliable, regular and well-maintained, as well as providing decent wi-fi connections and proper power points.”

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