Department for Transport written question – answered at on 16 November 2017.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for renewals and large-scale maintenance projects on existing rail lines between cities that will eventually be served by HS2; and what is the timescale for those works.
The Government has recently announced an expected Rail expenditure of around £47.9bn for Network Rail in England and Wales over the new Control Period from 2019 to 2024. This includes funding to support a significant increase in renewals activity across the network compared with the current Control Period and increases maintenance spending to deliver a more reliable railway.
Network Rail are currently developing their proposals for the delivery of renewals and maintenance projects between 2019 and 2024. These proposals will then be subject to the scrutiny of the independent Office of Rail and Road which will establish final outputs and deliverables by the Autumn of 2018.
Regarding HS2 specifically, the Department is working with Network Rail and HS2 Ltd to optimise upcoming works, and for example are reviewing how the planned renewals and HS2 work at Crewe will deliver the best service for all passengers on the rail network.
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No2 people think not
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