Passengers travelling to and from Cumbria on the west coast main line could face a decade of rail disruption after plans for a ‘once in generation’ line upgrade were leaked.
Reports in the Times Newspaper say that Network Rail are set to replace 150 miles of overhead wires which were put in place more than 50 years ago.
Sections of the line between Crewe and Gretna will close for up to two weeks at a time when work gets underway in a project which could cost up to £3.8 billion according to unconfirmed reports.
The plans are designed to futureproof the west coast main line, which is the busiest line in the country, and keep freight and passenger trains travelling across the border.
The west coast mainline is a vital economic artery for the UK, and one of the busiest mixed-traffic rail routes in Europe, but has suffered from punctuality problems, with just 62 per cent of trains running on time. Furthermore, five per cent of trains were cancelled outright.
The project has been named ‘Trilink’ and plans are still at the early development stage.
Chris Coleman, industry programme director for the north at Network Rail, said to the Times Newspaper: “Trilink is an industry-wide programme bringing digital signalling to the west coast mainline, north, as well as renewing track and overhead line equipment that are reaching the end of their life.
“Disruptive access will be required to deliver this work, which we will consult and agree with the wider industry over the coming months.
“The programme is at a very early stage of development and work to refine the delivery programme and confirm the costs is under way.”
The main line runs at close to capacity meaning that a broken-down train can cause huge knock on effects for other services with this project designed to make the services more reliable.
The plans come after HS2 was scrapped between London and Manchester.
Last year group made up of business and education leaders called on the government to restore the original HS2 plans to connect London and Manchester to prevent an ‘impending collapse’ of the West Coast Mainline and the M6.
The plans for the high-speed rail route were scrapped by the previous government who announced that HS2 would end in Birmingham rather than going to Manchester.
HS2 trains were set to call at Oxenholme, Penrith and Carlisle stations which were to become ‘integrated high-speed stations’ where passengers could catch HS2 trains and access the high-speed network to the south.
When he cancelled HS2 north of Birmingham, the then prime minister, Rishi Sunak, promised to use the money to fund transport infrastructure projects across the North of England using the money that would be saved.
In Cumbria, he promised to ‘upgrade' the energy coast train line linking Carlisle, Workington and Barrow.
The upgrade would 'improve capacity and journey times' on the line, enabling trains every 30 minutes between Carlisle, Workington, and Whitehaven, according to the previous government.
The decision to cancel HS2 north of Birmingham was criticised by local leaders in 2023 including Cumberland Council.
“The decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2 is really disappointing but sadly not surprising,” said Cllr Denise Rollo, executive member for sustainable, resilient and connected places in 2023.
“This is a huge, missed opportunity, not just for Cumbria, but for the entire country.
“Making sure Cumbria was featured on the High-Speed Rail map was important to our region’s future growth and investment so the decision to withdraw the northern leg of HS2 without a clear alternative plan is genuinely disappointing.”
Since taking office, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has put a stop to some large scale, industrial projects due to what she claims is the ‘dire state’ of the public finances left by the Tories and a further update on major public infrastructure projects is expected in the autumn budget at the end of the month.
Major transport projects which have been put on hold by the government in Cumbria include the Border Railway feasibility study and the £1 billion A66 dualling project whilst an update on the Energy Coast line upgrade has not been given.
The previous Conservative Government allocated £10million in April 2023 for a feasibility study into extending the Borders Railways into Cumbria, finishing at Carlisle.
Campaigners have long fought for the line, which reopened in 2015, to be extended from current terminus, Tweedbank, down to Carlisle, via stations such as Longtown, Hawick and St Boswells.
A recent report from the Borderlands Partnership, which is made up of the local authorities from across the region, said that extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle would be the ‘best solution’ to help solve the area’s notorious transport connection difficulties.
Cumbria is set to have a major voice in rail decisions going forward, with Carlisle MP, Julie Minns, being elected as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for the West Coast mainline.
Service reliability on the West Coast Mainline will be a top priority for the APPG, but Ms Minns is keen that the group also looks at how connecting branch lines can improve connectivity, such as the Newcastle to Carlisle route.
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Train operator, Avanti West Coast said that is was too early to say what the full impact would be on the timetable with the starting date of these works yet be decided.
The major works will coincide with the government’s plan to renationalise the railways which will see train services in Cumbria and across the country being run for by the state for the first time in decades.
The plans, which are already going through parliament, are set to come into force from as early as next year when some rail contracts are finished.
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