The company, which owns and operates Britain's main line railways, is expected to say that the lines will be needed by 2025, when existing routes north and west of London will be full to capacity.

Most routes are likely to be high-speed passenger lines, modelled on France's TGV network, which would free up space on existing lines for local passenger and freight trains.

The routes to be examined are likely to follow roughly a series of existing routes from London: the West Coast Line to Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, Great Western line to Bristol, East Coast line to Edinburgh, Midland line to Sheffield and Chiltern route to Birmingham.

Only one new main line rail route has been built in the UK in the past century - High Speed One from London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel, whose last section opened in November.

Before that, the last new main line to be constructed was the extension of the Great Central Railway from Nottinghamshire to London, Marylebone, opened in 1899.

Network Rail is unlikely to specify which new lines should be high-speed because speed will be one of the issues examined in the review, for which the company is seeking a consultant. While high-speed trains generally emit less carbon dioxide per passenger for a journey than aircraft, faster trains emit CO 2 far more than conventional-speed trains.

The Department for Transport faced criticism last summer when its rail White Paper contained no concrete plans either to electrify much of the rail system or to plan for future high-speed lines.

Network Rail is thought to be launching the review under its obligation to plan for the railways' long-term future.

The busiest rail lines are growing increasingly crowded after passenger traffic grew 67 per cent between 1994 and last year. Freight traffic is up about 50 per cent since the mid-1990s.

See also:

High speed trains planned in UK railway blueprint

Daily Telegraph: 21/06/2008
By David Millward, Transport Editor

Rail passengers could see journey times across Britain slashed under proposals to build a series of high-speed tracks similar to Japan's Shinkansen "bullet trains" or the French TGV.

The Daily Telegraph has learnt that executives at Network Rail are to draw up a blueprint to criss-cross the country with hundreds of miles of new track in the biggest railway building programme since the industry's Victorian heyday.

This could see six inter-city lines being built, of which several would be dedicated to trains capable of travelling at 186 miles per hour.

Network Rail chiefs say the case for expanding the railways has been bolstered by the need to cut dependency on oil and environmental demands to reduce domestic air travel.
Article continues
advertisement

Iain Coucher, Network Rail's chief executive, will announce a study next week on the shape of the industry beyond 2014. The results will be presented to ministers next summer.

If his plans are accepted, construction on the lines could begin towards the end of the next decade.

The likeliest candidates for high-speed track are two lines running through the spine of the country, one from London to Glasgow and the other along the east coast to Edinburgh.

Four others are also under consideration: from London to south Wales; London to Cornwall; London to Birmingham through the Cotswolds and from the capital to Sheffield.

The London to Sheffield line could connect to the high-speed Channel Tunnel line and then on to the European network.

Other lines, such as Reading to Oxford, could also be upgraded.

Mr Coucher said the need is partly because existing infrastructure is incapable of handling rising demand.

"Trains are becoming fuller," he said. "We have been able to put more on the network, going up from 17,000 to 22,000 a day.

"Then trains could be lengthened from eight to 10 to 12 carriages. But after that you reach the point where other steps are needed."

The greatest pressure is expected to be on the lines linking London to "dormitory towns".

It has left Network Rail trying to work out how it can cope with a surge in the number of passengers coming into London from stations such as Milton Keynes, Rugby and Peterborough.

This, Mr Coucher believes, will mean building lines dedicated solely to high-speed trains running between Britain's major cities.

Taking inter-city trains off existing tracks would enable Network Rail to double the number of services between commuter hubs.

These trains would run at speeds of 100mph.

"Instead of one train an hour with 1,000 seats I could put on two," Mr Coucher told The Daily Telegraph.

There would also be more capacity for freight trains, allowing goods to be transferred from road to rail – in turn easing pressure on the country's motorway network.

"With the popularity of rail growing, we have to start planning for the medium and long-term future today," Mr Coucher said.

"We have a thriving railway today and that must continue and grow to meet the economic and environmental needs of tomorrow's Great Britain.

"The price will be very large, but the benefit this will bring to Britain in terms of the economy and environment will be huge."

See also:

Network Rail to consider five new high-speed lines

Times Online: June 21, 2008
By Simon Alford

Five new main railway lines could be built across Britain to tackle growing passenger numbers on the train network.

Plans for Britain's biggest railway building work for more than 100 years could see high-speed lines, similar to the link between London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel, being used nationwide for domestic services for the first time.

It is hoped the new lines would-free up space on existing services and help cope with a projected 30 per cent rise in passenger numbers over the next decade. There has already been a 40 per cent increase in people using the rail network in the last 10 years.

The lines would run alongside the existing rail network, in a similar way to the French TGV network.

The suggestions are among those being considered in a strategic review by Network Rail, which owns and operates the rail network.

The study, which will be announced on Monday, will look at whether high-speed lines are a feasible alternative to the current operating system and will generally examine ways to improve services over the next 20 years.

It will target the country's five busiest lines in and out of London, estimated to be at full capacity by 2025, which are the West Coast line to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow; the East Coast line to Edinburgh; the Great Western to Bristol; the Midland main line to Sheffield; and the Chiltern route to Birmingham.

Any proposals considered in the review would not come into effect until after 2014. A Network Rail spokesman said: “We are looking at these five strategic routes. We are possibly looking at new lines. There is a huge case to be made for an expansion of the rail network. All options are on the table looking at how we address capacity issues.”

Richard Dyer, transport campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said a modernised rail system was long overdue and could mean fewer cars, lorries and internal flights.

He labelled the proposals for new high-speed lines as "very exciting", but said the effect on the countryside must be taken in to account.

“Expanding Britain’s railways by building new high speed lines is potentially very exciting - and could play an important role in weaning Britain off fossil fuels and developing a low carbon economy," Mr Dyer said of the Network Rail study

“But the overall impact that this would have on local people and the environment must be carefully considered. The UK needs a modern, comprehensive and affordable rail network to provide a real alternative to cars, lorries and short haul flights, and help cut Britain’s contribution to global climate change.

“Our creaking railway system desperately requires huge investment to bring it into the 21st century.”

The review was also welcomed by rail users watchdog Passenger Focus. Director Ashwin Kumar said: "It is extremely important the rail industry anticipates future growth."

The country's first high-speed link opened in 2003 between London Waterloo and the Channel Tunnel, and was completed last year when services began operating out of London St Pancras in November.

The line has cut journey times from the capital to Paris by 40 minutes, and domestic high-speed services from Ashford and Ebbsfleet in Kent are expected to begin in 2010.

Britain's last main railway line to be built before this was the Great Central Main Line which linked Sheffield with Marylebone station, which opened in 1899.