Railways: infrastructure project

Standard Note: SN1537 Last updated: 26 January 2012

Author: Louise Butcher Section Business and Transport

This note describes the Thameslink infrastructure project, including information on how the scheme got off the ground, construction issues and the policy of successive government towards the project. It does not deal with the controversial Thameslink rolling project to purchase new trains to run on the route. This is covered in HC Library note SN3146. The re- let of the Thameslink passenger franchise is covered in SN1343, both available on the Railways topical page of the Parliament website.

The Thameslink project involves electrification, signalling and new track works. This will increase capacity, reduce journey times and generally expand the current Thameslink route through central and across the South East of England. On completion in 2018, up to 24 trains per hour will operate through , reducing the need for interchange onto services.

The project dates back to the Conservative Government in the mid-1990s. It underwent a lengthy public inquiry process under the Labour Government and has been continued by the Coalition Government. However, the scheme will not be complete until 2018 – 14 years later than its supporters had hoped when the scheme was initially proposed.

Contents

1 Where things stand: Thameslink in 2012 2

2 Scheme generation and development, 1995-2007 3 2.1 Transport and Works Act (TWA) Order application, 1997 5 2.2 Revised TWA Order application, 1999 6 2.3 Public Inquiry, 2000-2006 6 2.4 New Thameslink station at St Pancras 7

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This information is provided subject to our general terms and conditions which are available online or may be provided on request in hard copy. Authors are available to discuss the content of this briefing with Members and their staff, but not with the general public. 1 Where things stand: Thameslink in 2012 As explained below: it took a long time for the Thameslink project to get off the ground, largely because of delays to planning approval and public inquiries. This is despite the fact that it has had the backing of first the Conservative, then Labour, and now the Coalition governments. For a whole host of reasons, the project – initially scheduled for completion in 2004, will not be fully complete until 2018. In recognition of this, in late 2005 rebranded the scheme, removing the now obsolete ‘2000’ from the name of the Thameslink project.

There were concerns, under both the previous and present governments, that the scheme might never be completed, largely for financial reasons. However, both Labour and the Coalition confirmed their support for the scheme. For example, in July 2007 the Labour Government published a White Paper on rail, which stated that the total cost of the scheme would be around £5.5 billion and would be delivered by the end of 2015. Significant interim outputs would be delivered by the end of 2011, including the ability to run twelve-car trains along the Midland Main Line and through central London.1 By the time Labour left office in March 2010 it had achieved the following:

Progress has been made in delivering the programme, which has been split into three distinct phases. Key output 0 was an enabling phase and saw the introduction, on 22 March 2009, of a new Thameslink train timetable requiring dual voltage trains [...]

Key output 1 involves the construction of Blackfriars and Farringdon stations, which, together with platform extensions along the midland main line, will allow longer 12- carriage trains to operate from Bedford to destinations south of London, and there will be up to 15 trains per hour through central London. The infrastructure capability from such works is due to be available at the end of 2011.

Key output 2 provides the full functionality of the . There will be 24 trains per hour through the central core section, which will be achieved through the resignalling and reconstruction of London station and its approaches together with a new fleet of approximately 1,200 vehicles. That stage is scheduled to be completed from December 2016.

The first enabling phase of the programme was successfully introduced on 22 March 2009. It involved the closure of the bay platforms at Blackfriars and the closure of the Thameslink Moorgate branch. That was achieved by linking the north and south services together and running them through the core central London Thameslink route using additional new dual voltage trains.

The key output 0 element of the programme was delivered on time and on budget despite supply difficulties with the new trains. Much of the success can be attributed to excellent co-operation across the rail industry, where temporary measures were put in place to supply dual voltage trains to mitigate supply problems.

I am pleased to report that all the required 23 dual voltage trains have been delivered and are now in service with . All temporary rolling-stock mitigation measures that were in place since March 2009 have now been withdrawn.2

When the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government took office in May 2010 there was some concern as to whether the Thameslink project would go ahead in its entirety,

1 DfT, HDelivering a sustainable railwayH, Cm 7176, 24 July 2007, p50 2 HHC 2 February 2010, cc46-48WH

2 particularly in the context of the government’s proposed spending cuts. However, in November 2010 the then Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond, confirmed that the scheme would go ahead, though with a delay to the delivery timetable to 2018:

...we will fund and deliver the Thameslink programme in its entirety, virtually doubling the number of north-south trains running through central London at peak times. But the original programme for the rebuilding of London Bridge was always ambitious, with substantial risks around delivery, and operation of existing services, during construction. To reduce these risks, we have re-profiled the delivery of the programme to achieve completion in 2018. This will enable Network Rail to make further efficiencies to their design and delivery programme.3

The scheme is now estimated to cost £6 billion.4

As at mid-2011 the government stated that:

The first stage of the Thameslink Programme is already under construction. Building work is already well underway at Farringdon and Blackfriars stations, and platform extension work has been completed at many locations including Parkway and St Albans. This first stage will enable some longer 12 carriage trains to operate on the Bedford to Brighton route from December 2011. The platforms at are being extended across the river to make it the first station to span the width of the Thames. is being significantly improved and will also provide a new interchange onto once that scheme is completed.

The second stage involves the reconstruction of and its approaches and a new connection to the East Coast Main Line just to the north of St Pancras. This stage will facilitate operation of up to 24 trains per hour in both directions through the central London core section, as well as longer 12 carriage operation to a range of destinations to the north and south of London from December 2018.5

By spring 2012 Network Rail intends that the routes will have 50 per cent longer trains running for the first time and new stations opening at Blackfriars and Farringdon.6

2 Scheme generation and development, 1995-2007 The Thameslink project, originally called ‘Thameslink 2000’, involves electrification, signalling and new track works to expand the current Thameslink route through central London. The intention is that the project would increase capacity, reduce journey times and create new opportunities through London and across the South East of England. A comparison of how the network looked in 2009 and how it is anticipated to look in 2018 is given on the following page.7

3 HHC Deb 25 November 2010, c52WS 4 DfT press notice, “HRail passengers to benefit from 1,200 new carriagesH”, 16 June 2011 5 ibid., 6 Network Rail, HThameslink programmeH [accessed 26 January 2012] 7 from the HThameslink websiteH [accessed 26 January 2012]

3

4 The principle anticipated benefit from Thameslink was that passengers would be able to travel directly across London, avoiding the need to change at terminus stations. Knock-on benefits would be relieved pressure on London Underground, better access to Gatwick and Luton airports and easier connection to HS1 at St Pancras (where the new Thameslink station would be located).

The between Kings Cross and Blackfriars was built in the nineteenth century and fell into disuse south of Farringdon in the 1960s. The railway was reopened between Farringdon and Blackfriars through the Snow Hill tunnel in May 1988. The lack of capacity immediately became obvious and the Thameslink project was originally conceived by to increase the capacity of the service. As the original name suggests, it had an anticipated completion date of the year 2000. Problems included the tight curve of the existing tunnel out of the Thameslink station to the north of King's Cross and the narrow, short platforms. Plans to implement changes to remedy these problems were included in the King's Cross Railways Bill, introduced into Parliament in March 1989. This was a Private Bill, supported by the government of the day. It received Second Reading in May 1989,8 but was withdrawn in 1994.

2.1 Transport and Works Act (TWA) Order application, 1997 The project was the put on hold until early in 1995 when it became a joint project with Railtrack.9 By then it had become apparent that if the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) terminated at St Pancras the existing Underground lines would be unable to carry the projected increase in passengers without serious overcrowding. Schedule 1 to the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 therefore contained provisions to construct a new Thameslink station as part of the St Pancras terminus.

Government approval for the scheme was originally given on 27 February 1996. The cost was estimated by the then Secretary of State for Transport, Sir George Young, as £650 million, of which he expected the government to contribute £100 million for the Thameslink station at St Pancras.10 Planners estimated the cost benefit ratio to be nearly 3:1, as much of the infrastructure was already in place and only needed upgrading. The project scope was agreed by the Franchising Director11 in April 1996 and he supported it with a section 54 agreement.12 There followed a considerable amount of detailed planning work and consultation with interested parties. As a result, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF)13 proposed the inclusion of significant routes within in the Thameslink service, track modifications at London Bridge and extra platform capacity for Blackfriars station.14 Sixty local authorities from Norfolk to West Sussex were consulted between June and November 1997. In November 1997 Railtrack applied for an Order under sections 1 and 3 of the Transport and Works Act 1992.15

8 HHC Deb 8 May 1989, cc614-82 9 Railtrack was at this point still a transitional company owned by the Government, it was not privatised until 1996; it took over the ownership and management of the rail infrastructure from British Rail; for more information see HC Library note HSN1224H; Railtrack became Network Rail in 2002 10 HHC Deb 27 February 1996, cc723-735H 11 succeeded by the HStrategic Rail Authority (SRA)H in 2001 and by the in 2005 12 Section 54 of the HPlanning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990H allows urgent works to be undertaken for the preservation of listed buildings 13 see footnote 11 14 OPRAF press notice, "Improved service plan for the Thameslink 2000 project announced", 22 January 1997 15 this procedure is explained in detail in HC Library note HSN103

5 The project was due to start in 2000 with completion in 2004 at an expected cost of £560 million. However, there were delays, one of which came about because of uncertainty about the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) project, which was scheduled to undertake certain works at St Pancras, affecting Thameslink. It took some time for the financial restructuring of the CTRL project to be agreed and it was only in March 1999 that Railtrack confirmed its intention to proceed with the exercise of its option to construct Stage 2 of the CTRL, including the infrastructure works at St Pancras. This would put back the completion date for Thameslink to 2006.16

Consideration of objections made to the original TWA application and the enforced delay caused by CTRL Stage 2 led to a rethink of the Thameslink project. Many of the representations received in response to the original Order application centred on the consequential closure of the Thameslink , the effects of the works on services to and from Blackfriars Station and the impacts on the conservation area.

2.2 Revised TWA Order application, 1999 In September 1999 Railtrack applied for a Transport and Works Order to revise the proposals contained in the November 1997 application.17 The new enhancements included:

• Increased capacity at London Bridge;

• All Charing Cross trains to stop at London Bridge;

• Twelve-car Thameslink trains to more stations North and South of the Thames, including Dartford, Horsham, Oxted, Sandy, St Neots and Finsbury Park;

• Better mainline/Underground interchange and congestion relief at Blackfriars and Finsbury Park; and

• Improved station and interchange facilities at Farringdon.

The scheme, as originally submitted, increased the number of peak hour trains in each direction through London Bridge serving , Blackfriars and Charing Cross from 54 to 61 while the revised proposals allowed for 70. Combined with the longer trains on more routes, this would mean overall increased capacity equivalent to more than 150 extra coaches in the busiest peak periods. Taken together, these changes would mean a rise in the capital cost of the scheme to £800 million.

2.3 Public Inquiry, 2000-2006 A Public Inquiry into the proposals contained in the 1999 TWA application ran between June 2000 and May 2001, during which time the proposals were also scrutinised by an independent Inspector, Mr David Ward. The Inspector reported in January 2002 and provided two addenda reports in May and June 2002. Overall, the Inspector found that Thameslink would bring substantial public benefits, both directly to the travelling public and by underpinning London’s economy and enhancing the conditions for regenerating parts of the capital. However, the Inspector also found some serious shortcomings, in particular in relation to the planned new concourses at London Bridge and Blackfriars stations and the

16 HHC Deb 1 March 1999, c512W 17 SRA press release, “H£800 South East Rail scheme Moves AheadH”, 23 September 1999

6 proposed demolitions in the Borough High Street Conservation Area.18 Responding to the report, the government invited Railtrack and ‘other interested parties’ to make representations on a suitable way forward for the project.19

On 29 January 2003, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM)20 deferred a decision on the Thameslink Transport and Works Orders pending submission of planning proposals to address the three deficiencies identified by the Inspector’s 2002 report. The then Planning Minister, Chris Leslie, said he had considered the suggestion made by Railtrack and the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) that the project should be approved subject to conditions preventing demolitions of certain buildings at London Bridge and Blackfriars stations, and around Borough Market, until planning permission had been given for their replacements. However, the Minister did not consider this would be an appropriate and reasonable way forward and said that it would not be right to approve the scheme until there were satisfactory proposals for its core elements and the environmental effects of the whole of the project had been properly assessed.21

In June 2004 Network Rail (NR)22 submitted new planning applications for the Borough High Street Conservation Area and Blackfriars to address the issues raised by the Inspector’s report. At Blackfriars the applications addressed the replacement building for 167-179 Queen Victoria Street and the further development of the design for Blackfriars railway bridge. NR also submitted a new environmental statement covering the whole scheme.23

The Public Inquiry into the Thameslink project re-opened on 6 September 2005 and closed on 7 December. On 18 October 2006 the then Transport Minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman, announced that the planning permission for Thameslink had been granted by the Secretaries of State for Transport and Communities and Local Government.24 The statement was made without prejudice to a decision about funding for the scheme which was being considered separately by the Department for Transport.

Separately, in order to make the necessary improvements to services, Thameslink required the closure of some services and parts of the network. These closures were first notified in 1999 under the provisions of the Railways Act 1993. The Department for Transport consequently decided to seek the views of rail users and the then Secretary of State for Transport asked London TravelWatch to produce a fresh report on the closure proposals. Following a new ‘Statement of Reasons’ from NR outlining its proposals and a number of public hearings in March 2006, London TravelWatch delivered its report on the proposed closures to the Secretary of State in April 2006.

2.4 New Thameslink station at St Pancras As part of the building of the new international terminus at St Pancras, London and Continental Railways (LCR) completed the construction of a ‘box’ in May 2005 containing what was, in effect, the first phase of a new Thameslink Station to provide passenger connections with the London Underground and mainline railway stations at St Pancras and

18 ODPM, HThameslink 2000 inspector’s report: Vol 1H, July 2002, paras 1.26-1.34 19 ODPM press notice, “HThameslink 2000 – the way forwardH”, 30 July 2002 20 now HCommunities and Local Government (CLG) 21 ODPM press notice, “HFurther work needed on Thameslink proposalsH”, 29 January 2003 22 Network Rail succeeded Railtrack as the rail infrastructure owner and manager in October 2002; for more information see: HC Library note HSN2129 23 further information available on the HNetwork Rail archive site 24 HHC Deb 18 October 2006, c56WSH and: DfT/CLG, HThameslink - 2006 joint DCLG and DfT Decision LetterH, 18 October 2006

7 King’s Cross. After several months of negotiation between the Department, Network Rail and the it was announced on 8 February 2006 that the government had decided to provide the funding to enable the station to be completed by the end of 2007. The fitting out would include laying flooring, fitting seven escalators and two lifts and would cost around £50 million. A further £10 to £15 million would be spent on signalling work and transferring Thameslink services from the station at Road. The Ministerial statement pointed out that the fitting of the new Thameslink Station would take place separately from the wider Thameslink project.25

On 9 December 2007 First Capital Connect (FCC) moved its Thameslink services to the new station at St Pancras International.

25 HHC Deb 8 February 2006, c50WS

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