Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly says an extra 1,300 carriages will be distributed to train operators to help carry 180m more passengers in the next seven years - but they have not as yet been ordered.
Promised last year as part of the Department of Transport's (DfT) White Paper - ”Delivering a Sustainable Railway” - the government says this is a ”major step forward” in meeting its commitment as it provides indicative numbers of which operators will benefit, but there is little detail on delivery dates.
”Passenger numbers have grown by an unprecedented 40% over the last decade, so that more people than ever before are travelling by train,” said Kelly. ”The Government is investing ”10bn ($20bn) to increase capacity on the railways benefiting those travelling on the busiest routes in cities like Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester and London.”
That figure covers the government”s total rail investment ” including infrastructure - and does not pay directly for the new trains. Operators will have to lease the carriages, but this extra cost will be factored into their franchise contracts.
A spokeswoman told ABTN that the first trains will enter service between 2009 and 2014, as set out in the White Paper.
”This is our thinking on how we can target the allocation of stock ” it has started the ball rolling for discussions with the operating companies,” she said. ”Thameslink is receiving 48 carriages in one year”s time, and Arriva will also get 40 in a year”s time.
”Operators and Network Rail need time to plan ahead and make sure vital work is done to accommodate longer trains, including lengthening platforms, depots and sidings.”
The DfT seems sure the additional 1,300 engines and carriages will be enough to accommodate its projected 20% growth in passenger numbers for the seven year period ” ”We believe it is, based on the Office of Rail Regulation”s assessment,” it noted.
Independent watchdog Passenger Focus, welcomed the announcement but said it will not immediately alleviate the overcrowding on lines across the network. Chief executive Anthony Smith said: ”The strategy is helpful as some clarity now starts to emerge about where the welcome 1,300 new trains will go and how the knock-on complex shifts of existing trains will take place.
"However, passengers standing on England”s crowded trains and stations will want to know when the new trains will arrive ” it”s cramped and uncomfortable now.”
Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) director general, George Muir, said: ”It is time to get a move on with ordering the trains. Railway patronage continues to grow and we need to keep pace with this. ATOC and our members are ready to work with government to get these badly-needed trains into service as quickly as possible for the benefit of passengers."
He added: ”It is reassuring to see congestion hotspots being addressed by additional trains - not only in the London area - but on the fast-growing regional and long-distance routes.”
Operators with the largest allocations so far are First Capital Connect (256 electric units), One (188 electric), Northern (158 diesel), South Eastern (110 electric) and Intercity West Coast and South Central (106 electric each).
First Great Western ” whose passengers staged a fare ”strike” earlier this week calling the service ”cattle class” among other things ” is currently earmarked for 52 diesel vehicles.
A spokesman told ABTN: ”It”s early days yet ” we are in discussions to make sure the western routes that we operate have a fair allocation.”