Railways: West Coast Main Line

Lord Bradshaw
asked Her Majesty's Government:

How they propose to deal with any capacity problems on the West Coast Main Line railway which may arise if the existing trains and platforms are not lengthened and adequate car parking facilities are not provided. [HL1671]

Lord Bassam of Brighton
A 30 per cent increase in capacity will be available on the West Coast Main Line with the intensification of the new timetable, currently planned for introduction in December this year.

The provision of extra capacity for long-distance services on the West Coast Main Line is envisaged in the high level output specification (HLOS) statement published in July 2007. The Rolling Stock Plan published on 30 January 2008 set out an indicative number of 106 additional vehicles for InterCity West Coast by 2014.

The existing West Coast Trains franchise is committed to putting forward business cases for expansion of car parking accommodation along the route. Such work is well advanced.