Passenger Rail Study Phase One: Baseline Assessment of the current network A technical report produced by Network Rail for the EEH evidence base Table of Figures ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 5 An Area of National Importance ......................................................................................................................... 5 Understand the Railway’s Role ........................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 9 Aim of Phase 1 of the Passenger Rail Study ........................................................................................................ 9 What is the purpose of baselining the existing passenger network? ............................................................... 10 Methodology ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 Steering Group .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Key Nodes ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 Selecting the Key Nodes .................................................................................................................................... 14 Key Nodes: Supporting Planned Housing Growth ............................................................................................ 15 Key Nodes: Supporting Economic Growth ........................................................................................................ 18 Key Nodes: External to the Heartland .............................................................................................................. 26 Service Levels ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 Generalised Journey Time (GJT) ....................................................................................................................... 31 General Service Levels ...................................................................................................................................... 33 Generalised Journey Times to EEH Nodes from London .................................................................................. 38 Case Studies ...................................................................................................................................................... 39 Case Study 1: Aylesbury .................................................................................................................................... 40 Case Study 2: Oxford ......................................................................................................................................... 44 Case Study 3: Swindon ...................................................................................................................................... 48 Case Study 4: Milton Keynes ............................................................................................................................. 51 Case Study 5: Northampton .............................................................................................................................. 55 Case Study 6: Bedford ....................................................................................................................................... 58 Case Study 7: St Albans ..................................................................................................................................... 62 Case Study 8: Peterborough ............................................................................................................................. 66 Case Study 9: Hertford ...................................................................................................................................... 71 Case Study 10: Cambridge ................................................................................................................................ 74 Case Study 11: East West Rail ........................................................................................................................... 78 Gaps in the rail offering throughout the Heartland .............................................................................................. 80 Common themes across the EEH network ....................................................................................................... 80 Cross connectivity: The Arc Concept ................................................................................................................ 80 The Three Arcs .................................................................................................................................................. 81 1 Other corridors of poor connectivity ................................................................................................................ 82 Connectivity to Airports .................................................................................................................................... 84 Next Steps for Corridor Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 86 Upcoming Rail Enhancements in the Heartland ................................................................................................... 87 The Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline.......................................................................................................... 87 Great Western Main Line: Associated enhancements and schemes ............................................................... 88 Chiltern Main Line: Associated enhancements and schemes........................................................................... 89 West Coast Main Line: Associated enhancements and schemes ..................................................................... 90 Midland Main Line: Associated enhancements and schemes .......................................................................... 91 East Coast Main Line: Associated enhancements and schemes ....................................................................... 92 West Anglia Main Line and Great Eastern Main Line: associated enhancements and schemes ..................... 93 Summary of Rail Enhancement Schemes from the Heartland’s Perspective ................................................... 95 High Speed Two: Released Capacity ..................................................................................................................... 97 High Speed 2: Phase 1 and 2A........................................................................................................................... 98 High Speed 2: Phase 2B ..................................................................................................................................... 98 Decarbonisation of Passenger Services in the Heartland ..................................................................................... 99 Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) ..................................................................................................................... 101 West Anglia Main Line (WAML) ...................................................................................................................... 101 East Coast Main Line (ECML) .......................................................................................................................... 103 Midland Main Line (MML) .............................................................................................................................. 104 West Coast Main Line (WCML) ....................................................................................................................... 105 Chiltern Main Line (CML) ................................................................................................................................ 105 Great Western Main Line (GWML) ................................................................................................................. 106 East West Rail (EWR) ....................................................................................................................................... 108 A Decarbonised Rail Heartland ....................................................................................................................... 108 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................... 110 Appendices .........................................................................................................................................................