£1bn plan to electrify London-Swansea railway line

The government today announced a plan to electrify the main Great Western line from London to Swansea at a cost of £1 billion. The line from Manchester to Liverpool will also be converted likewise.

The work is due to start immediately and is estimated to last eight years, due to the amount of electric cables that need to be installed. With train services having a heavy impact on the environment, electric trains offer a lighter and more energy efficient alternative emitting up to 35% less carbon per passenger mile than diesel locomotives - and produce zero emissions at track level.

On top of the eco-friendly benefits, the improvements will cut 19 minutes off the London to Swansea route and make trips between Liverpool and Manchester 14 minutes shorter.

With the works boosting the national economy, but with taxpayers footing the bill, one must wonder whether a slightly shorter train trip is worth £1 billion, but Transport Secretary Lord Adonis believes so. Talking to the BBC, he said the improvements would pay for themselves over a 40 year period.

"With the electric trains you get a quieter, cleaner, more reliable and much cheaper train which benefits passengers and it also benefits the taxpayers because it's much cheaper to keep an electric railway going. But you've got to put that upfront investment in. Governments historically have been very averse to making long-term investments."

Travelling on the Great Western line today, Prime Minister Gordon Brown concurred with Lord Adonis saying, "This is the future. It is green, it is faster and it's more reliable. This is about making the railways fit for the 21st century."

For those that have ever endured a two hour delay however, the proof will be in the pudding.

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