Trains in parts of northern England run at “painfully slow” speeds barely quicker than a horse and cart because of congestion, research has found.
A study published today says that improvements to the network simply cannot wait for the construction of new high-speed lines in 20 years’ time.
It says that freight trains in the north travel at average speeds of 16mph on major east-west lines, with a knock-on impact on passenger services. The existing network “does not work”, the report says, because it is “overloaded with long-distance, commuter and freight traffic all competing for too little space on the tracks”. The findings suggest that some trains are hardly quicker than a horse and cart — between 5 and 15mph.
The government has promised to regenerate the railway between cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield as part of its commitment to “level up” the country. Boris Johnson confirmed in February that the north-south HS2 line would be built in full from London and Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds. It will eventually join a new east-west line across the Pennines to create an overarching “High Speed North” network, he said.
There is already multibillion-pound work under way led by Network Rail to improve the network. This includes an upgrade of the Transpennine line between Manchester and York via Leeds, extending more than 100 platforms at 70 stations and a £340 million investment in lines around Liverpool.
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However, the study by three transport experts says the transformation promised by Mr Johnson’s vision would take too long. HS2 is not expected to be completed to the north until 2040 and there is no timescale at all for the new east-west high-speed line.
The report, led by Jim Steer, a transport consultant and a former director of the Strategic Rail Authority, says there are “serious problems to be addressed in the north’s rail network in the next five to ten years that cannot wait for these flagship schemes”. It recommends a “super hub” in central Manchester with a tunnel into Piccadilly station from the west that can be used by fast trains from Wales, Chester, Liverpool, Barrow-in-Furness and Glasgow en-route to the other side of the Pennines. This will free existing lines for commuter trains, the study adds.
The report, Revisiting High Speed North says: “The network does not work, crucially through Manchester, but also in Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield, where stations and lines are at capacity, or in Manchester’s case overcapacity. Average journey times for Transpennine freight are as low as 16mph and 17mph. These issues cannot wait for a solution until the 2040s.”
The report, co-written by Ian Wray, visiting professor in civil design at Liverpool University, and David Thrower, a transport consultant, says the upgrade is needed to allow more freight to be carried by rail. Freight trains are often held to allow passenger services to pass, with those travelling between Liverpool and Drax power station near Selby, North Yorkshire, averaging 16mph. Some trains from Immingham docks on the Humber travel at 17mph or 19mph. The authors write: “It’s not enough to provide fast links between the major cities. It is also essential to overcome existing bottlenecks. We need a grand design, but we need a realistic programme too.”