Commuters will
enjoy improved journeys and benefit from 2,400 extra seats during
the morning and evening peaks thanks to Government funding for an
additional 48 rail carriages, Transport Secretary Justine Greening
announced today.
The carriages will be used to boost capacity on South West Trains
services travelling into Waterloo by an extra 40 carriages in the
morning and 37 carriages in the evening.
Justine Greening said:
“I’m determined to do what I can to improve the service and this
is great news for passengers. Adding extra carriages to these
vital routes will mean more seats for passengers, easing
congestion but also helping to boost London’s economy.
“With over 1.4 billion rail journeys on the rail network a year,
travelling by train is more popular than ever. So, to help meet
that demand we are delivering the biggest rail modernisation
programme since the Victorian era, with £18 billion committed in
this spending period. Today’s good news is part of the
Government’s programme of providing additional capacity on the
railway and will benefit passengers across the South West Trains
network. So whether you are in Guildford or Portsmouth, Ascot or
Basingstoke, Eastleigh or Exeter, Alton or Aldershot you’ll be
getting better services and more seats –which adds up to a real
win-win for passengers.”
The extra carriages are Class 456 vehicles which are being
cascaded from Southern Railways. They will be introduced into
service between March and December 2014. Additional capacity will
be provided on 17 separate services travelling in and out of
Waterloo together with the creation of two additional 8-car
morning services from Raynes Park to London.
Notes to Editors
Notes for editors
1. The additional carriages will facilitate an internal rolling
stock cascade which will enable a number of existing services to
be lengthened:
Three AM peak suburban services will be lengthened from 8-cars
to 10-cars; Two PM peak Guildford services will be lengthened to
12-cars; three suburban services to 10-cars and one Aldershot
service to 8-cars; Six main line AM peak services on the
Portsmouth, Portsmouth via Eastleigh, Exeter, Alton and
Basingstoke service routes to Waterloo will be strengthened; Six
mainline PM peak services on the Exeter and Basingstoke service
routes from Waterloo will be strengthened.
Contacts:
DfT Press Office - Rail
Phone: DfT Press Office 020 7944 3108
nds.dft@coi.gsi.gov.uk