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   Rail investment should focus on northern England say MPs
Future investment in Britain's rail network should focus on northern England instead of the south-east and closed lines and stations should be brought back into service to ease congestion, a group of MPs has said.
The Commons transport committee highlighted the Manchester Hub scheme to improve the flow of rail traffic around Manchester as key to the next five-year funding period for Network Rail. The cross-party group of MPs argued the £3.5bn Thameslink project to create an improved north-south link across London and likely future investment in the £16bn east-west Crossrail scheme could create a "vicious circle". London investment could create further demand in the area, forcing future spending to concentrate on alleviating overcrowding in London. Committee chair Louise Ellman said: "It's paramount we do not deprive future generations of a lasting legacy of good transport services. "Investments made now or in the near future should reflect long-term needs of the economy and society." The committee welcomed the scale of the current £35bn investment programme, covering the period 2009-2014. But spending on high-speed rail links should not detract from investment in the existing network, the report says. A lot of the rail network is "creaking at the seams" following the unprecedented growth of passengers in the past 15 years, it said. MPs called on ministers to set out their rolling stock plans as soon as possible to provide the industry with certainty about future capabilities. And the committee urged for the methodology applied by government prioritising schemes to be more dynamic and to integrate wider social, environmental and economic considerations. Source: ePolitix.com Copyright Dod's Parliamentary Communications Ltd
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