West Coast Main Line unable to sustain passenger
growth
Summary
The NAO finds that the West Coast Main Line may not be able
to sustain passenger growth within 10 years despite a £8.6bn investment.
This report examines how effectively the Strategic Rail Authority/Department
for Transport and Network Rail turned around the West Coast programme between
2002 and 2006.
The NAO looked at:
- How the Strategic
Rail Authority/Department of Transport and Network Rail addressed the
weaknesses in programme management in order to deliver on time
- Whether
costs have been brought under control
- Whether the programme is
delivering its anticipated benefits.
The report finds that the
project has delivered journey time, punctuality and train reliability
improvements and that passenger journeys on Virgin West Coast grew by over 20%.
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How does it affect me?
If you are a frequent user of the West Coast Main Line, this will affect
you.
The NAO warns that, by around 2015, the line will not be able to
sustain current levels of growth in passenger and freight traffic. Plans
include: longer trains, more trains per hour and new signalling systems.
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