Digital signalling is set to be introduced on the trans-Pennine rail route, making it the country’s first intercity mainline to be controlled using digital technology.

 

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has asked Network Rail to set out how it can embed new technology into an upgrade of the trans-Pennine line between Manchester, Leeds and York, using £5M of development funding.

 

He says that digital technology and digital control rooms will mean a more reliable service, a safer railway and more capacity for passengers.

 

But Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister Rachael Maskell described digital modernisation without electrification as “a wasted opportunity”. She added: “The Tories’ decision to cancel electrification and introduce bi-mode trains will result in slower journeys and provide less new capacity.”

 

In a speech last week, Chris Grayling addressed recent criticism levelled at Government for scaling back its rail electrification plans. “Our programme of electrification is continuing and soon we will have electrified dozens of times more railway than were electrified in the years between 1997 and 2010. That means more electrification in and around Manchester, and looking at electrification as part of passenger improvements across the Pennines.

 

“But people have got to stop only thinking about how a train is powered and focus instead on getting the best possible improvement for passengers. And what delivers better journey times is primarily the way you upgrade the tracks and the signalling, and how you invest in trains.”

 

♦ Labour’s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told his party’s conference in Brighton on Monday that the Conservatives plan to invest in the north just one fifth of what it will spend on transport per head in London.

 

He added that a Labour Government would build Crossrail for the North, extend High Speed 2 into Scotland and deliver funding for the Midlands Connect transport improvement programme. He also committed to electrifying railway lines between Cornwall and London.

 

Also at conference the Labour Party’s General Secretary Iain McNicol called for train reliability to improve and said that Southern Rail – which has seen a prolonged period of industrial action – should be nationalised.

 

(Photo: El Pollock and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence)