London commuters from East of England set to jump by 50 per cent in 20 years

2:00pm Tuesday 8th January 2013 in News

London commuters from East of England set to jump by 50 per cent in 20 years London commuters from East of England set to jump by 50 per cent in 20 years

THE number of passengers travelling from the East of England into London for work is set to rise by almost 50 per cent in the next 20 years.

Fresh figures from Network Rail, which owns the line, show the number of people using the line at peak times is set jump by 49 per cent by 2031, from 16,500 to 24,600.

Network Rail now plans to invest £2.2billion in order to boost capacity and make trains more reliable for commuters.

It is the largest investment since the Victorian era.

The company’s business plan for the line, which outlines proposed work between 2014 and 2019, has been submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation, which will take a final decision in October.

The proposed changes include replacing the track between London Liverpool Street and Norwich as well as replacing overhead power lines between Liverpool Street and Chelmsford. 

Network Rail is also proposing to build a second station in Chelmsford, at Beaulieu Park.

 

Comments(13)

simonwhu says...
3:20pm Tue 8 Jan 13

And we get nothing in Braintree..nothing..
expect big price rises

Report this post »

wearebeingwatched says...
3:49pm Tue 8 Jan 13

I thought replacing the track and overhead power lines had been done over the last few years when they close the network down over the weekends.

Report this post »

romantic says...
5:12pm Tue 8 Jan 13

To be honest, the times that I´ve used the trains, it has been OK - but it´s not normally at peak times, and that´s the crunch point. Price is of course an issue, and it could be hard to get fares down if the operators can point to figures growing this much.

The problem is, especially at peak time, the system is pretty much at capacity. 4 lines from Shenfield to Colchester instead of 2 could allow more fast trains, but you´ve still got to get them in and out of London. And all of that would mean rebuilding every bridge and station along the way.

Regarding the endless engineering work, perhaps it would make more sense to simply close the line for a week and get the work done. Half the time is lost setting up ready for the works. Rather than lose every weekend for the rest of time, shut the lot, put on a load of buses and get it done. Of course people would moan, but if it gets the job done, maybe worthwhile?

Report this post »

Ontheball says...
8:02pm Tue 8 Jan 13

Fares up by well over 50% in 20years is more like it. Clapped out bangers (hand me downs) on the Norwich line are the cause of most of the delays due to constant breakdowns.

I thought, at one time, they were looking at a station in Stanway to relieve pressure on North station, but like most things on the GE line, is came to nothing.

Report this post »

Grabber says...
8:42pm Tue 8 Jan 13

So what have they been doing at the weekends when bus replacement was going on ? There I was thinking the track and OH lines where being replaced then .....

Report this post »

Boris says...
10:29pm Tue 8 Jan 13

Well of course, they are building all those new houses around here, and they are selling them to people who want to earn London wages but who have no hope of buying a house at London prices. They probably know they will be standing all the way to work and all the way home, but they have no alternative. I pity them all, and wish we did not have this insane economy which drives people to commute longer distances than anyone else in Europe.

Report this post »

greenbroker says...
10:39pm Tue 8 Jan 13

Boris wrote:
Well of course, they are building all those new houses around here, and they are selling them to people who want to earn London wages but who have no hope of buying a house at London prices. They probably know they will be standing all the way to work and all the way home, but they have no alternative. I pity them all, and wish we did not have this insane economy which drives people to commute longer distances than anyone else in Europe.
That is very good comment. Whilst there are punters to use the trains, fares will always increase above inflation. If one has to survive on a government pension, then one cannot afford to use them. No problem.

Report this post »

The Yellow Peril says...
8:54am Wed 9 Jan 13

To be honest, 99 times out of 100 there is no need for anyone who travels from Braintree and Witham to or from London to stand. If you get an earlier train in the morning or one that starts at Braintree or Witham then you have every chance of getting a seat. If you get on a train 10 minutes before it leaves Liverpool Street of an evening, then you get a seat.

What annoys me is when women with a pram and a couple of kids jump on a train at the last minute, take up what little space is left, force people to give up their seats to noisy kids, when all the woman had to do was to wait 10 minutes for the next train to Chelmsford.

Report this post »

simonwhu says...
8:57am Wed 9 Jan 13

Even if we have no capacity for extra Braintree trains we could have one an hour to London as at the moment and the second one could stop at Witham.

Report this post »

romantic says...
10:17am Wed 9 Jan 13

Boris wrote:
Well of course, they are building all those new houses around here, and they are selling them to people who want to earn London wages but who have no hope of buying a house at London prices. They probably know they will be standing all the way to work and all the way home, but they have no alternative. I pity them all, and wish we did not have this insane economy which drives people to commute longer distances than anyone else in Europe.
This is, of course, the bigger picture. Colchester is one of the fastest-growing towns in the UK, and will keep growing for the next few years.

A fair proportion of those people will be wanting to commute. I´m lucky enough to live and work in Colchester, but have plenty of friends who submit themselves to the daily commute because London is where their work is.

However, there is no way they could afford to live in London, unless out on the edge - and it can take longer to get in from the suburbs than from here. So it is a fact of life for them, and one which they are likely to have to do for many years to come.

Report this post »

Bhudeeka says...
1:01pm Wed 9 Jan 13

The Yellow Peril I couldnt have put it better myself regarding women and their children they should not be travelling during commuter times

Report this post »

Scoot says...
1:52pm Wed 9 Jan 13

If the trains were built to accomodate normal people rather than Snow Whites 7 mates then at least the journeys would be comfortable. What needs to happen to sort the rail network out is for the rail companies to have at least 2 commuters on their boards. Maybe only then will they be run with the passengers in mind rather than the companies and their shareholders.

Report this post »

Keep Essex Green says...
11:25pm Wed 9 Jan 13

Boris wrote:
Well of course, they are building all those new houses around here, and they are selling them to people who want to earn London wages but who have no hope of buying a house at London prices. They probably know they will be standing all the way to work and all the way home, but they have no alternative. I pity them all, and wish we did not have this insane economy which drives people to commute longer distances than anyone else in Europe.
Good quote Boris, all the Green land will be built on in Essex, we are seen as a soft touch, Braintree was the fastest growing town in the UK, now Colchester.....why are we building houses for people who want to move out of London, co's that's whats happening!

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree