Rail upgrade promises more trains
Updated on 14 December 2008
Train passengers are being promised a "quantum leap" in service after the completion of the decade-long upgrade of the West Coast Main Line.
There will be more than 1,100 extra trains every week and journey times will be slashed by up to 30 per cent, track maintainer Network Rail said.
The improvements come after the completion of the last piece of work on the £9 billion upgrade of the route between London and Scotland.
It has been one of the biggest civil engineering enterprises of recent times. The line was rebuilt to take tilting trains travelling at 125mph, with new junctions, platforms and signalling to improve services.
Network Rail said the fastest time between Birmingham and London would fall by 30 per cent to just one hour and 12 minutes - 31 minutes quicker than before the project started.
Journey times between Glasgow and Birmingham will also be reduced from four hours 20 minutes to an average of three hours 58 minutes.
And Virgin Trains' northbound service from London to Glasgow will take four hours 30 minutes, rather than five hours 20 minutes.
Among the extra services are an extra train per hour between London Euston and Birmingham New Street. There will be three trains rather than two trains, running every 20 minutes.
The upgrade has seen a whole series of disruptions to passenger journeys over the years as bits of track were closed off for engineers to work on.
© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
