The Government is tomorrow (Thursday July 22) expected to confirm two major electrification schemes, with decisions on other lines due later in the year.
 
With the weekly Cabinet meeting being held in Cardiff, Prime Minister Gordon Brown will announce that the Great Western main line will be electrified from London Paddington to Swansea, improving connections from the capital to South Wales.
 
That project will include Oxford and Newbury, while the Manchester to Liverpool line will also be electrified.
 
The announcements will be seen as a major victory for the new transport secretary Lord Adonis, who is credited with campaigning for major Government investment in the railway network, through electrification and high speed rail.
 
As Railnews has reported, electrification of the Great Western main line was a central feature of a new long-term strategy proposed by Network Rail in May.
 
In an introduction to the consultation document, chief executive Ian Coucher said: “Our analysis shows the long-term benefits of electrifying key parts of the network, in terms of both reducing its ongoing cost to the country and improving its environmental performance, are significant.”
 
The other key electrification identified in the document is the Midland main line to Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield, and the Government will make a decision on that project later in the year, along with routes between Manchester and Preston and Liverpool and Preston.

However the positive outcome for the Great Western main line and Manchester to Liverpool will lead to optimism that the further electrifications will also be agreed.
 

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