|
Title: Alistair Darling's Budget speech - references to transport (24/3/2010) Post by: Chris from Nailsea on March 24, 2010, 14:48:15 From the BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8585373.stm):
Quote Mr Deputy Speaker, investment in both traditional and new infrastructure is also vital if our economy is to grow and our businesses are to succeed. We have to move goods and people around the country and around the globe. It is no good supporting high-speed rail links in principle, but declining to back plans which might lead to local controversy. The Government is taking forward plans for a high-speed rail link from London to the Midlands, and then to the North and Scotland. In Government, we have taken the tough decisions to improve our transport links and to cut delays in our planning system. Plans for Crossrail, Heathrow, along with high-speed trains, will improve transport in this country and support some 100,000 jobs over the coming years. Roads are, of course, an essential part of our transport network. The bad weather of the last few months has taken a damaging toll on their condition. So I am providing ^100m to pay for vital repairs to local roads throughout the country, and ^285m to pay for improvements in the motorway network, including by expanding capacity by allowing hard shoulder running. Title: Re: Alistair Darling's Budget speech - references to transport (24/3/2010) Post by: IndustryInsider on March 24, 2010, 15:34:21 No actual statement that GWR electrification will continue, but at the same time no statement that it wouldn't - time will tell of course!
Title: Re: Alistair Darling's Budget speech - references to transport (24/3/2010) Post by: Electric train on March 24, 2010, 19:18:18 No actual statement that GWR electrification will continue, but at the same time no statement that it wouldn't - time will tell of course! The design is quite well developed, so money is being spent on the project but it still needs that Government commitment funds for the building of it which is likely to be part of CP5Title: Re: Alistair Darling's Budget speech - references to transport (24/3/2010) Post by: onthecushions on March 25, 2010, 15:46:24 Usually the Budget proposals for Rail are in the small print emerging in its aftermath. As, post privatisation, we have CPx financial planning with DfT/ORR, there tends not now to be money in/out of the industry at the Budget. The industrial action looming indicates that cuts are taking place however. Long term, railways are in trouble because of excessive borrowing as a result of the privatised structure (too many contractual parties) - hence the need to return to BR. The GW electrification is mostly safe as it has a real financial return (it would cost more NOT to do it) rather than having an imagined BCR > 2, and allows cascade of the 319's. Scrapping the IEP (7.5Bn) gave a big saving (aka Budget cut) but means that (like it or not), we'll have to make our Mark 3's last yet another generation, even if electrically hauled. Perhaps we should be buying up those Irish scrappers... OTC This page is printed from the "Coffee Shop" forum at http://gwr.passenger.chat which is provided by a customer of Great Western Railway. Views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that content provided contravenes our posting rules ( see http://railcustomer.info/1761 ). The forum is hosted by Well House Consultants - http://www.wellho.net |