Announced on Monday 16th July, the High Level Output Specification (HLOS) defines the railway that the Government wishes to see by 2019. It has been developed in the context of forecasts which predict strong average growth of 16% in passenger demand and 23% in freight demand over the five years. The HLOS is accompanied by the Statement of Funds Available (SOFA) that sets out the public funds that are likely to be available for the railway during this period.
One of the components to the 'spine' directly affects Winchester & Chandler's Ford constituents as it takes in the line between Southampton and Basingstoke. A business case has been identified by the rail industry to convert the current 750V DC third-rail electrification (major components are almost life-expired and need replacing), to the more powerful and efficient 25KV AC overhead system.
HLOS supports this as it will enable trains to accelerate faster with the potential for higher running speeds, which will benefit passengers through improvements to journey times.
In addition, the environment will benefit as a greater capture of energy will be allowed through regenerative braking.
The scheme will also allow longer and heavier freight trains to operate, and at a lower cost, between the deep sea container port at Southampton and major cities, removing traffic from the road network.
Minister of State Theresa Villiers said: "The Government's strategy is built around a rolling programme of electrification, exploiting synergies between schemes to efficiently meet forecast demand, supporting economic growth and better environmental outcomes, and securing cost efficiencies for both passenger and freight operators.
"It confirms the £5.2bn funding for schemes already announced for CP5 and announces a further £4.2bn of investment. By the end of this decade this funding will ensure that around threequarters of passenger train miles travelled in England and Wales on the national network will be by electric train."
Steve Brine added: "I welcome this news, and as a commuter myself representing thousands of fellow passengers who travel to London, I am pleased at the investment. I was also interested to see that on the lines into Waterloo, Government has made funding provision for major works at Waterloo station to accommodate longer trains, which is something I have long been seeking."
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