Hope for new high-speed rail lines

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Rail infrastructure company Network Rail (NR) said it would be conducting a strategic review for building new lines.

The company said it would be looking at five routes north and west of London - Chiltern, East Coast, West Coast, Great Western and Midland Main Line.

It is likely that most, if not all, of any new lines will be high speed in what would amount to the largest track building programme since the 19th century.

NR chief executive Iain Coucher said: "By 2025 many lines will be full-up, especially those running to and from the north and west of London. This will happen even after we have implemented the investment to boost current capacity.

"With popularity for rail growing, we have to start planning for the medium and long-term future today. We have to see how we can meet the capacity challenge and see what solutions - including potentially, that of new lines - are deliverable and affordable.

"This review, working in partnership with other players in the railway industry, will kick-start this process."

In the last decade passenger numbers have soared by 40%, with 1.13 billion journeys a year now being made - the greatest number since 1946 when the network was twice the size.

Today around 22,000 services run on weekdays - up from 17,000 at the time of privatisation. In that time too, the amount of freight carried has rocketed by 60%.

NR said that all credible current projections point to similar growth over the next decade. And punctuality has improved to a point where 90% of services arrive on time. NR said it had launched a tendering process to appoint a consultancy to assist its new-line study.