UK: The government has confirmed funding for a series of rail and projects following the Spending Review, but some major schemes have been paused.
On July 8 Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said ‘with over £92bn investment, including the biggest ever boost for city regions in the north and Midlands, we’re delivering the schemes that fast-track economic growth and jobs, connect communities, and will help us build 1·5 million new homes’.
The projects to be progressed include the Midlands Rail Hub programme and three new stations, but Phase 3 of the Midland Main Line electrification has been ‘paused’, along with the York Area Capacity & Performance project and the final phase of the South West Rail Resilience Programme.
Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline scheme funding confirmed
Scheme |
Description |
| Transpennine Route Upgrade | The Spending Review confirmed £3·5bn for the ongoing TransPennine Route Upgrade to improve connectivity and reduce journey times between Manchester and Leeds. |
|---|---|
| East West Rail to Cambridge | The Spending Review confirmed £2·5bn for East-West Rail to unlock growth across the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor. |
| Midlands Rail Hub | The Spending Review confirmed funding to progress the next stage of Midlands Rail Hub, strengthening connections from Birmingham across the West Midlands and to other regions. |
| New rail schemes for Wales | The Spending Review confirmed £445m for rail investment in Wales. This will support the development and delivery of the priorities of the Wales Rail Board. This includes funding to progress: Cardiff Central modernisation, South Wales Relief Lines upgrade, Wrexham to Liverpool line congestion relief, Cardiff West Junction Capacity, new stations in South Wales, accessible footbridges on the North Wales Main Line and unallocated development funding for the Wales Rail Board to identify new priorities. |
| Adding capacity at Oxford | Works to add capacity and support new services at Oxford will continue. This scheme will support plans for housing and employment growth in the area as part of the Ox-Cam Growth Corridor strategy. It will provide significant freight benefits allowing up to an additional 10 trains per day as well as completing the remodelling of Botley Road into Oxford. |
| Improving Leeds Station Programme | Works at Leeds station to ‘transform’ passengers’ experience, addressing congestion and improving facilities ahead of the completion of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. The scheme will add a new bridge between platforms, a new southern entrance, an improved concourse and an extended platform 14. |
| Improving services in the Leeds area | Continuing works to support additional services to and through Leeds, ease congestion and improve reliability for passengers. The programme has already provided extra LNER services between London and Bradford and ongoing work will allow for longer trains and greater capacity at Leeds. |
| Transforming rail services across Manchester | A series of schemes to ‘transform’ rail across Greater Manchester and improve services in the area will continue. This will include better circulation for passengers at Manchester Victoria and Manchester Piccadilly and a third platform at Salford Crescent, track remodelling and signalling works to provide for longer trains and more reliable and frequent services. |
| Reinstating passenger services to Portishead (part of Metrowest) | Providing support for West of England Combined Authority and North-East Somerset Council’s plan to reinstate passenger rail services between Portishead and Bristol city centre. |
| New station at Wellington | Building a station at Wellington that will provide new connections to regional centres, support expansion plans for the town and allow people to access jobs at major employment centres such as Exeter. |
| New station at Cullompton | Building a station at Cullompton that will provide new connections to regional centres, supporting economic growth and planned housing. |
| Reopening of Haxby station | Reopening a station at Haxby on the York to Scarborough line, providing a rail connection for the town for the first time in 100 years, supporting sustainable, accessible transport to the north of York and beyond. |
| A new station at Cambridge South | Completing the ongoing construction of a Cambridge South station to support the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and Southern Fringe development as well as future East West Rail Services. |
| Improving East Coast performance through digital signalling | East Coast Main Line ETCS roll-out. |
| Improving performance on the West Coast (north) | Continuing to invest in the power supply on the northern end of the West Coast Main Line to improve performance, enable the introduction of new electric services and support future growth. This extra power will enable the roll out of Northern’s electric fleet, electric freight growth, HS2 and ’smoother, more reliable’ timetables. |
| Improving performance on the West Coast (south) | Investing in increasing power supply on the southern end of the West Coast Main Line, to enable the introduction of new electric services and enable a second London – Liverpool service. |
| Capacity and frequency improvements on the East Coast Main Line | Continuing to invest in upgrades to the East Coast Main Line to deliver increased capacity and frequency on long distance services, a reduction in journey times and support the rollout of electric rolling stock. Extra capacity from the new LNER Azuma fleet and additional services between London and Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle will be delivered with the December 2025 timetable. |
| Electrification from Kettering to Wigston | Completion of the ongoing electrification of the Midland Main Line between Kettering and Wigston, allowing electro-diesel trains to run further on electric power. |
| Redevelopment of Euston station | Improving the existing London Euston station alongside the HS2 scheme to provide a spacious concourse and enhanced experience for passengers on the existing network, and those transferring to the London Underground and new HS2 services. |
| Nexus signalling renewals | Development of a new signalling system on the Tyne & Wear Metro; this scheme is not part of RNEP, and is being delivered by Nexus. |
| Protecting future services between Old Oak Common station and the Chiltern Line | Ensuring that the option to connect the Chiltern line to Old Oak Common station is preserved as part of the development plans for the station and surrounding area. This means that the new station is future-proofed for potential new connections to the Midlands and north by other routes, which could provide greater capacity and options for passengers. |
Rail schemes under consideration
Scheme |
Description |
| York Area Capacity & Performance | The York Area Capacity & Performance project has been paused until the wider strategy for the East Coast Main Line – aligned with Northern Powerhouse Rail aspirations – can be developed further. The benefits to passengers of the York scheme would only be realised as part of a wider package of investment to increase capacity between York and Newcastle. This will be kept under review so that the scheme can be delivered in the most effective way in future. |
|---|---|
| South West Rail Resilience Programme Ph5 (SWRRP Ph5) | The delivery of the final phase of the South West Rail Resilience Programme is on hold but preliminary works to support cliff monitoring and drainage are progressing. DfT said ’we have already invested significantly in securing the cliffs and making the coastline more resilience in the southwest and need to focus our investment on other projects around the country. We will keep this scheme under review as the preliminary works complete and for funding at future fiscal events.’ |
| Midland Mainline Electrification Phase 3 (RNEP) | The next phase of electrification of the Midland Main Line has been paused. DfT said ’given the exisiting trains in use on this stretch of railway and the costs and time needed to electrify the route we are focusing our investment on other schemes over the Spending Review period. We will continue to keep the potential for full electrification of the route under review as part of our plans to decarbonise our railways and as funding becomes available in future.’ |
| Peckham Rye Station Congestion Relief (RNEP) | The congestion relief scheme at Peckham Rye station is being paused during this Spending Review period. DfT said ’we have had to prioritise our funding on the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and economic growth as soon as possible. The scheme will be kept under review as part of our pipeline of schemes for potential progression in future as funding becomes available.’ |
