Call for railway investment as timetable changes blocked

Timetable changes on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) have been scrapped amid fears the overburdened line simply cannot cope. North East mayoral candidate Kim McGuinness has now urged the government to work with the north on a new plan for capacity improvements on the ECML “after years of doing nothing leaves us with less than ever”.

Rail leaders had planned to introduce a new timetable for London to Edinburgh services, with £4bn announced in the Spring Budget to improve services.

But now the government’s flagship East Coast investment plan has been scuppered after Network Rail said it will not sign off the plans amid concerns the lack of capacity on the already overworked line mean it cannot cope.

LNER trains had planned for a third hourly services on the East Coast Main Line, a proposal which will now be paused.

Railway failings

Labour’s mayoral candidate Kim McGuinness said: “14 years of underinvestment in the North East rail network have now come home to roost.

“It feels like every month we see a new railway failing from this government. We have seen High Speed Rail – a new railway line to solve our capacity issues – scrapped.

“We’ve seen plans to reopen the Leamside line in Durham – helping us keep services going – announced and scrapped within 24 hours.

“Now, just a month after the budget promised railway investment, we’ve been warned the proposed changes would lead to cancelations and delays.

“We always had concerns about the changes, they took away rather than added to the services, but now we are left with no changes at all and no increase in capacity.

“This government has no plan for the railways, we urgently need change.”

Members of the Rail North Committee were briefed on the timetable U-turn on Monday morning.

They were informed that Network Rail believed the risk of a timetable meltdown  following any changes was too great given the lack of capacity on the East Coast Main Line.

Gateshead leader Martin Gannon, who sits on the committee, said capacity constraints were “entirely the fault of the government”.

He added: “This shows conclusively the urgent need to invest now to increase rail capacity in the North East. The country’s entire economy, and the main link between Edinburgh to London, is being constrained by the Government’s long-term planning failure.”

Martin and Kim issued a joint plea for the government to address the timetable disruption by investing in the North East.

Both have backed plans to reopen the Leamside Line in County Durham, which would help take freight trains off part of the network and free up space for passenger services.

Transport for the North is set to meet with the Transport Secretary to review the Network Rail concerns.

We publish a regular gazette that’s now available free to all our newsletter subscribers. Click on the image to access the Freeports Gazette edition and sign up to our mailing list via the button below!