Our Carriages Await – and the Bill

By JONATHAN WALKER

The West Midlands will benefit from a share of the 1,300 new carriages to be provided as part of the rail White Paper published yesterday, the Government has pledged, writes JONATHAN WALKER, Political Editor

Services in Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Manchester have been earmarked for the first wave of carriages, designed to expand capacity on the national network by at least 183 million more passengers a year.

But improvements announced yesterday will be paid for partly by passengers through fares, as well as increased funding from the Treasury.

Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, said that passenger numbers were expected to grow by 20 per cent in the next seven years.

The announcement also included pounds 5.5 billion Thameslink project, which will run from Bedford to Brighton through London, and is designed to improve access to the capital.

As well as pounds 128 million for Birmingham New Street and pounds 425 million for a new station in Reading, more than 150 stations will receive less extensive upgrades at a cost of pounds 150 million.

Details of how the money will be spent have yet to be released but the Department for Transport said the list was likely to include Wolverhampton and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Ms Kelly said: “Our railway is flourishing and in this White Paper we show how we will grow and develop the network for decades to come.

“Passengers in the West Midlands want not only more capacity and reliability on their trains but also more modern stations, simple and efficient ticketing, quality of service and value.

“They’re right to be so demanding and this strategy can deliver what they want – as our spending on Birmingham New Street shows.”

Government money for the railways will amount to pounds 15.3 billion between 2009 and 2014, while passenger revenue is expected to account for pounds 39.2 billion.

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