Network Rail today (1 Nov) issued its Strategic Business Plan which outlines spending proposals for the next five years.
Key proposals include providing more than 100,000 extra seats every day in around 1,700 carriages and improving the punctuality of all train services to over 92% by 2014.
It also includes spending ”11.4 bn ($23.72bn) investment during the period on renewing track, signals, structures and stations, including the re-development of King”s Cross and Birmingham New Street stations.
”Growth and expansion is where we will focus our efforts in the years ahead and today”s plan highlights a raft of small, medium and large expansion schemes that will provide passengers and freight users with a bigger, better railway that delivers more trains, more seats, more often.” said Network Rail chief executive, Iain Coucher.
”Delivering a safe, punctual and reliable railway each and every day will always stay at the core of our business.”
Today”s proposed plans are part of an ongoing review by the Office of Rail regulation (ORR) of Network Rail”s prospective spending budget for the period 2009-20014.
Coucher added, ”The money that we invest now will reap huge benefits and will make rail travel the option of choice. Rarely before has the country had such a great opportunity to improve rail services for the benefit of our industry partners, users of the railway, taxpayers and the economy as a whole.”