Network Rail CP7 Plans

[LNW-GW Joint]

NR has published its CP7 plans, and there are detailed documents on its web site, on a Region/Route basis.

Our Control Period 7 (CP7) delivery plans - Network Rail

Our Control Period 7 (CP7) delivery plan sets out our planned activities, outputs and expenditure of operating, maintaining and renewing the mainline railway infrastructure in Great Britain (GB) over the next five years (between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2029). It does not include any...

www.networkrail.co.uk

There's a lot of generic stuff here, but some specific deliverables are mentioned:

North West & Central:
• Renewal of the Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) from Preston Brook to Catterall will improve the asset condition and resilience of the line. We are reviewing stressing ranges on OLE before heat-related speed restrictions are required to improve reliability, resilience and reduce the maintenance burden.
• We will commence a programme of re-signalling in the Carlisle, Preston and Warrington areas, starting the transition to modern European Train Control System (ETCS) signalling. This will be the first implementation of ETCS in the NW route and will increase capacity on the WCML and enable HS2 trains to run on our infrastructure, reducing maintenance workload and removing signal sighting problems.
...
• Collaborative working systems: WCS is actively embracing innovative collaboration methods to improve financial efficiency, ensuring smoother operations for both passengers and freight with minimal disruption.
• Hanslope switches and crossings renewal: enhancing the reliability and performance of critical assets within WCS, ensuring a robust and reliable railway.
• Promoting safety through level crossing closures: WCS is undertaking level crossing closures in Marston and Kempston as part of a comprehensive risk reduction strategy, prioritising the safety of both the public and railway users.
• Revitalising for passenger safety: the full platform renewal at Milton Keynes underscores our commitment to passenger safety, helping to ensure the longevity of essential infrastructure for a secure and reliable commuting experience.

I'm sure there are similar nuggets in the other Regional sections.
Major enhancements are of course not included, as these are funded separately.

Renewing the OLE from Weaver Jn-Catterall would seem to give the lie to previous statements that the entire WCML fast lines were rewired during WCRM (CP2/3).
ETCS now seems to be embedded in the northern WCML plans.
In the accompanying maps, they forgot to delete HS2 phase 2.
There were no specific deliverables in the Central area (West Midlands/Chiltern).
WCS = West Coast South Route (Euston-south of Crewe).

For Wales & Western, some specifics are:
Resignalling at Plymouth
New S&C at Westbury South, Cardiff West and in the Thames Valley
Building the GW/HS2 interchange station at Old Oak Common ("to be open by 2030").
Conversion of the headspan OLE system Paddington-Airport Jn
Renewal of the rigid conductor system in the Severn Tunnel*
Renewal of the ETCS hardware on the Cambrian network

*It hardly seems 5 minutes since this system was installed (2020).

 

[snowball]

I quickly scanned the Scotland one but didn't notice anything geographically specific, except a reference to Edinburgh and Glasgow Central stations, and the gauging map.

The Eastern one is twice the size of the North West and Central but I haven't looked at it yet.

The national press release emphasizes climate change and even got a mention in the very brief Radio 3 morning news (the only radio or TV news I normally consume before lunchtime).

There's also one regional press release - Eastern. It has the same emphasis.

£45bn rail improvement plan puts climate change firmly in its sights

Network Rail today announced the start of its five-year, £45.4bn* rail improvement plan aimed at delivering a simpler, better, greener railway that provides the best level of train performance possible and that’s more geared-up than ever before to cope with the extremes of climate change.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

Network Rail today announced the start of its five-year, £45.4bn* rail improvement plan aimed at delivering a simpler, better, greener railway that provides the best level of train performance possible and that’s more geared-up than ever before to cope with the extremes of climate change.

Andrew Haines, chief executive, said: “Delivering a better railway for passengers and freight users is at the heart of our new five-year investment plan. Tackling climate change, safely improving train performance, adapting and responding to changing commuter habits whilst managing an ageing infrastructure requires the whole industry to rally for the benefits of all rail users.

“Whilst there are challenges and opportunities ahead, our mission is constant - we’re here to connect people and goods with where they need to be. The railway is part of the fabric of our everyday lives and has been for generations. It provides essential services to society, underpinning economic growth and our plans will support that over the next five years – a period that will mark the railway’s bi-centenary.”

Rail Minister Huw Merriman said: “Our railways are at the heart of many people’s daily lives and getting us to where we need to be, whether that’s to family and friends, work, education or holiday destinations.

“That’s why the network must be fit for the future, with the resilience to handle extreme weather while offering the reliability and level of service our passengers deserve. I am confident the plan set out by Network Rail today will help keep our railways on track for the coming years.”

Over the five years to 2029, Network Rail will invest around £2.8bn in activities**and technology that will help it better cope with extreme weather and climate change, which will help deliver a more reliable and better performing railway. Examples include:

Increased investment in looking after thousands of miles of drains, cuttings and embankments to make them more weather resilient
Recruiting almost 400 extra drainage engineers who will increase the care and maintenance of our drainage assets to be able to better handle increased and intense rainfall
Hundreds of key operational staff will attend Network Rail’s new ‘weather academy’ to help make them ‘amateur meteorologists’, better able to interpret forecasts and make better operation decisions such as when and where to slow trains in stormy conditions
More than 600,000 metres of drains will be built or rebuilt, redesigned or see increased maintenance to enable our railway to cope with much heavier rainfall and reduce flooding
Targeting over 20,000 cuttings or embankments for attention, with over 300 miles being strengthened through renewal and refurbishment and over 900 miles seeing planned maintenance
Installing significantly more ‘smart’ movement sensors to cuttings and embankments giving early warning of any changes enabling engineers to react, hopefully before a full landslip
Installing CCTV at high-risk flooding sites to enable better and faster response
Introducing new technology that will help us keep services running safely in difficult conditions, such as
o GUSTO – that uses topography to better predict windspeeds distinguishing valleys, trees and buildings enabling trains to run at higher speeds during stormy weather
o Precise ‘real-time’ world leading rainfall forecasting, detailing weather conditions every 500m that will link with asset condition data for even better train service management

Andrew continued: “Climate change is the biggest challenge our railway faces. The extreme weather of the past year that has seen an unprecedented 14 named storms, has taken its toll on our railway – with experts predicting more of the same to come. We are responding to that challenge with a huge investment in making our railway more resilient and better performing for rail users during such events.

“We can never completely ‘weatherproof’ our railway, but we can be better prepared and mitigate the worst that Mother Nature throws at us, now, and into the future, to keep passengers and services safe and moving.”

Network Rail is funded in five-year chunks, called control periods, with the current one, CP7 running from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2029. The funding and activity to be delivered is agreed in a long and complex three-year process working closely with the Office of Rail and Road, the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland.

Over the course of CP7 Network Rail will spend:

£19.3bn on renewals (replacing old assets with new as well as investing in other capital expenditure to create a railway fit for the future e.g. digital signalling)
£12.6bn on maintenance (day-to-day upkeep of current assets) with regions spending 6% more on maintenance activity compared with CP6
£5.3bn on support functions (things like safety & standards, timetabling, IT, HR)
£4.4bn on operations (things like signalling, stations, network controls)
£1.8bn ‘risk fund’ (a pot to be used as and when to cope with significant unforeseen events)

Through CP7 Network Rail’s income will come from grants from Governments (England & Wales and Scotland) - £29.8bn - track access charges from train operators - £13.8bn - and commercial income (retail, property, freight) - £1.7bn.

As well as targeting climate resilience, improving the broader day-to-day performance of the railway for passengers and freight users is a critical area for focus and investment, by our whole industry.

Network Rail to spend £60m on drainage in Yorkshire & North East to tackle disruption brought by landslips

£60m is going to be spent improving drainage on the rail network in Yorkshire and the North East to help prevent major disruption brought to passengers by landslips and heavy rain, and to increase safety.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

£60m is going to be spent improving drainage on the rail network in Yorkshire and the North East to help prevent major disruption brought to passengers by landslips and heavy rain, and to increase safety.

Over the past year, there have been 35 landslips in the north of England, causing major disruption to passengers and communities. These incidents can often be dangerous as well as expensive and time consuming to resolve.

Increased rainfall also brings its own challenges, with rainwater running onto the railway from neighbouring land, flooding lines and causing severe delays and cancellations.

April marks the start of Network Rail’s latest five-year control period (funding cycle) and £60m will be spent on improving drainage in Yorkshire and the North East to help tackle incidents such as these.

This funding will see major drainage schemes take place at Rotherham, Goole, Immingham, and Horsforth, the creation of 40 new dedicated drainage roles on the route, as well as investing in new and existing technology such as remote condition monitoring and CCTV.

Network Rail’s North & East route serves 178 stations from major towns and cities including Sheffield, Leeds, Middlesbrough, and Hull as well as more rural communities in Yorkshire and Northumberland including Grosmont, Hexham, and Grindleford.

Over the next five years, the route will spend £2.1bn on the day-to-today running of the railway and a widespread programme of renewals and upgrades on the network, improving the experience of passengers as they travel by train.

With this funding, Network Rail’s North & East route is committed to delivering a reliable railway that meets the needs of its passengers and communities, improving the resilience of the rail network, and continually driving to improve safety for passengers and colleagues.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

What does this mean? (Southern Zone)

Increased refurbishment and maintenance of metallic structures to maximise asset interventions rather than focus on fewer limited renewals

 

[snowball]

Item on BBC1 lunchtime news right now.

And there's this in the Guardian:

Network Rail to spend £2.8bn to cope with effects of climate crisis

Funding for drains, embankments and other measures is part £45.4bn five-year investment plan

www.theguardian.com

Network Rail is to spend nearly £3bn to protect the railway from the effects of the climate crisis and extreme weather, as it warned that the country’s network was having to contend with hotter summers and increased winter floods.

As part of its new £45.4bn five-year investment plan, the body in charge of Great Britain’s rail network will spend £2.8bn over the next five years on activities and technology to help it cope with the impact of climate change.

Network Rail said millions would be spent on looking after thousands of miles of drains, cuttings and embankments to make them more resilient to issues such as flooding or landslips.

The taxpayer-funded body plans to send key operational staff to its new “weather academy” to make them “amateur meteorologists”, allowing them to interpret forecasts and make better operational decisions.

The rail network has recently been battered by extreme weather, with more than 14 named storms in the past 12 months, which have led to widespread disruption for passengers.

The most high-profile delays came over Christmas when severe weather and heavy flooding led to delays and cancellations, including on the Eurostar.

The new investment will also go into building or rebuilding more than 600,000 metres of drains and recruiting more than 400 extra drainage engineers, who will boost the amount of maintenance done of drains so they can handle heavier rainfall.

More than 20,000 cuttings and embankments have been targeted for repair work, with more than 300 miles being strengthened.

The investment marks a major increase from the £1bn that Network Rail had initially earmarked for spending on climate change during the five-year period to April 2029, and is nearly six times the £500m in the investment plan that ran from 2019 to 2024.

The £45bn set aside for the latest investment period, known as control period 7, will be an increase of £3bn on the previous period. However, at current prices and factoring in inflation, it equates to a real-terms cut to £42.8bn, down from £43bn in the previous period.

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s group safety and engineering director, told the BBC’s Today programme: “Climate change is happening right now. It’s affecting the railway with flooding in winter and hotter summers than we’ve ever seen before.”

Andrew Haines, the Network Rail chief executive, said: “We can never completely weatherproof our railway but we can be better prepared and mitigate the worst that Mother Nature throws at us, now and into the future, to keep passengers and services safe and moving.”

Network Rail plans to spend £19.3bn on replacing old assets, as well as investing in other projects such as digital signalling.

It will spend £12.6bn on maintenance, £5.3bn on support functions such as timetabling and IT, £4.4bn on operations such as signalling, and £1.8bn will be put in a “risk fund” to be used for unforeseen events.

About 70% of Network Rail’s funding comes from the taxpayer, with 25% coming from the rail operators to use the lines, and 5% from property income.

The majority of Network Rail’s income – nearly £30bn – will come via grants from the UK and Scottish governments. It will receive £13.8bn in track access charges from train operators and £1.7bn in commercial income, such as from retail and property.

 

[Lytham Local]

What does this mean? (Southern Zone)

Increased refurbishment and maintenance of metallic structures to maximise asset interventions rather than focus on fewer limited renewals

I think the person who wrote it is playing buzzword bingo.

 

[The Planner]

What does this mean? (Southern Zone)

Increased refurbishment and maintenance of metallic structures to maximise asset interventions rather than focus on fewer limited renewals

Life extension of lots more structures instead of complete renewal of a few.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Renewing the OLE from Weaver Jn-Catterall would seem to give the lie to previous statements that the entire WCML fast lines were rewired during WCRM (CP2/3).

I did not realize that was claimed. I knew for certain it had not been on the section between Euxton Jct and Catterall as it runs right by my back garden in my UK home. Some work has been done in that some Auto Transformer pieces have been fitted but the section has not been rewired. This one taken at Barton just after the Broughton and Barton Loop shows the AT fitments but very little else has been done.

 

[Elecman]

WCRM OLE works were only as far as Crew and towards Manchester. Nothing done North of Weaver Jct itself. Hence why there are still headspans

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

WCRM OLE works were only as far as Crew and towards Manchester. Nothing done North of Weaver Jct itself. Hence why there are still headspans

I thought the theory was that the OLE had to be upgraded to a higher tension and in a new fixed position to support 125mph with tilting trains.
From what I have read the profile of the new contact wire was different and thicker because of this.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Life extension of lots more structures instead of complete renewal of a few.

Thanks, kinda what I thought... :

 

[Nottingham59]

What does this mean? (Southern Zone)

Increased refurbishment and maintenance of metallic structures to maximise asset interventions rather than focus on fewer limited renewals

They're going to paint stuff, rather than let it rust until it falls down.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

WCRM OLE works were only as far as Crewe and towards Manchester. Nothing done North of Weaver Jct itself. Hence why there are still headspans

Indeed -taken at milepost 4 north of Preston

 

[The exile]

They're going to paint stuff, rather than let it rust until it falls down.

What a novel idea - why didn’t someone think of that before?

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

An awful lot of verbiage in the reports - is it really necessary to say 'we will..' in every other sentence? Actually it should be 'we can't' - looks like Stockport and Edgeley boxes will live on to celebrate their 140th birthdays (2029).

Still Plymouth resignalling gets a mention - presumably controlled from Exeter? - as does possible Tavistock reopening.

 

[59CosG95]

Summary for Eastern:

• Track - critical re-railing and removal of high-speed timber-sleepered S&C
• Signalling, LXs & Telecoms - ECDP, Cambridge Area Resignalling, early development of ETCS on MML. ETCS deployment on MML to follow in CP8.
• OLE - reducing dewirement risk in stations and targeted refurb campaigns; renewals of OLE to take place in CP8
• Buildings & Structures - key bridges across the region to be renewed, along with Liverpool St Roof renewal, Highbury & Islington bridge works and new Bedford Delivery Unit construction
• Civils - Earthworks prioritised; decrease in drainage renewals offset by increase in drainage maintenance work

Another one for electrification-minded folk: Scotland's Railway is due to commence renewal of MkI OLE in CP7.
This basically covers the Cathcart Circle and the North Clyde (Glasgow North Electric Suburban) Lines - I'm not sure if this will extend to the MkII routes (towards Gourock & Wemyss Bay).

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

ETCS seems to be in for a rapid deployment, with ECML South, part of TRU, WCML North in CP7, and now MML being planned for CP8.
Also Cambrian hardware replaced.
Much will depend on how the ECML project goes from here.

 

[ThameslinkUser]

now MML being planned for CP8.

As is the Brighton mainline.

 

[Trainman40083]

An awful lot of verbiage in the reports - is it really necessary to say 'we will..' in every other sentence? Actually it should be 'we can't' - looks like Stockport and Edgeley boxes will live on to celebrate their 140th birthdays (2029).

Still Plymouth resignalling gets a mention - presumably controlled from Exeter? - as does possible Tavistock reopening.

Did they ever replace the Italian signalling system round there? Might have been Ansaldo?

 

[The Planner]

ETCS seems to be in for a rapid deployment, with ECML South, part of TRU, WCML North in CP7, and now MML being planned for CP8.
Also Cambrian hardware replaced.
Much will depend on how the ECML project goes from here.

It will be one signal box per control period. it won't be all three of Carlisle, Preston and Warrington.

Did they ever replace the Italian signalling system round there? Might have been Ansaldo?

Its due to happen at the end of the control period.

 

[EdinburghTrain]

How long does it take for the actual plans to be published?

The Scottish CP7 doc seems pretty light on what will actually be done.

There's a doc I read a few years ago (it may be the 2016 Scottish Route Study, but I thought it was more recent) that detailed the plans for each line. If it is indeed the SRS I'm thinking of, it's now 8 years old...

 

[Railsigns]

There's a doc I read a few years ago (it may be the 2016 Scottish Route Study, but I thought it was more recent) that detailed the plans for each line.

That would be the Enhancements Delivery Plan for Scotland. There was one published in 2022.

 

[snowball]

That would be the Enhancements Delivery Plan for Scotland. There was one published in 2022.

And there's been a lot of slippage since it was published! There was no annual update in 2023 - they're probably too embarrassed.

 

[MadMac]

I think the person who wrote it is playing buzzword bingo.

I wasn’t thinking “buzzword” but I’d agree with the general sentiment…..

 

[GRALISTAIR]

What does this mean? (Southern Zone)

Increased refurbishment and maintenance of metallic structures to maximise asset interventions rather than focus on fewer limited renewals

Life extension of lots more structures instead of complete renewal of a few.

God if I had a choice - plain speaking English every time please.

 

[Lytham Local]

I wasn’t thinking “buzzword” but I’d agree with the general sentiment…..

lol, yeah, I wasn't risking a ticking off from the moderators by using the proper word !

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

You have to be amused that the nation most desperate to get back into the EU is Scotland but in their delivery plan they have this to say about ETCS.

The problem may be summarised as:

• The cost of retrofitting existing rolling stock to the current European Train Control System Level 2 (ETCS L2) specification is disproportionate, and costs more than money saved in signalling assets.

• The cost of overlaying ETCS L2 with existing signalling during a transition phase presently would negate the apparent savings from removing existing lineside signal equipment.

• The alternative transition approach would be to restrict deployment of rolling stock to new fleets only. The average life of rolling stock is around 35 years, and sometimes more. Demand for railway services and patterns of passenger and freight movements change over time, often in unpredictable ways, as recent years have shown. Therefore, flexibility of deployment of different fleets has strategic value. Restricting rolling stock deployment options on key lines of route wouldn’t be acceptable at present.

Personally i believe we will see this to be a very prescient decision given the vast costs involved to do the first 100miles of ECML the railway has more urgent use of the limited investment available to it to just keep itself open to traffic these days ie drainage and earthworks.

 

[AMD]

It will be one signal box per control period. it won't be all three of Carlisle, Preston and Warrington.

From what i've heard it'll be Warrington first.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Personally i believe we will see this to be a very prescient decision given the vast costs involved to do the first 100miles of ECML the railway has more urgent use of the limited investment available to it to just keep itself open to traffic these days ie drainage and earthworks.

From what i've heard it'll be Warrington first.

The wider Network Rail position is that resignalling by conventional means is now "unaffordable", and ETCS will do the job at lower cost.
ETCS-fitted trains will in any case be working into Scotland from the ECML and WCML at no cost to them.
All to be proved, of course.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

So we could possibly see semaphore signalling and AB working on main lines into 2028-2029....

 

[Danfilm007]

Doesn't seem like an awful lot currently