Policy Hub
A report published by the House of Commons Transport Committee on 15 February 2010 suggests that wider electrification of the network plus attempts to address capacity problems across the North should underpin the government's investment priorities for the railways in the coming decade.
Whilst welcoming the government's change of policy on high speed rail, the committee warns that investment in new infrastructure must not detract from necessary medium-term investments on the "classic" rail network.
The report also endorses the scale of the current £35 billion investment programme for 2009-2014, much of which is to be spent on increasing capacity in London through projects such as Thameslink and Crossrail. The committee acknowledges that investment levels from 2014 to 2019 may be less generous, calling for a realignment in the balance between investment in London and the South East and elsewhere in the country.
The report insists that a clear priority must be given post-2014 to addressing the capacity constraints of the Manchester Hub, the main rail bottleneck in the North critically affecting the operation of both passenger and freight services across the whole of northern England. Further electrification of the network—particularly the Midland Main Line between London and Sheffield—should also be given top priority.