Disappointment as massive Yorkshire trains upgrade is derailed

The 7.5bn contract for a fleet of Inter City trains for the East Cast main line would speed journeys to the capital and see new depots built in Leeds and Doncaster and possibly a new factory in Sheffield.

But today there was doubt the project would ever go ahead, after Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced there would be no decision before the new year.

Instead, he said the Government would order 2,100 new carriages by May 2019. But only 650 of them will be delivered by 2014 - far fewer than the 1,300 promised by the Labour government.

The "Intercity Express Programme" to replace the east coast's ageing fleet of Intercity 125 high-speed trains was halted by the Labour government earlier this year and an independent review was set up which reported to the new Government in June.

Today, the Government said it was looking at two options - a revised bid from the original preferred bidder Agility, led by Hitachi; and an alternative for a fleet of all-electric trains.

The Government said it would continue to assess these two alternatives "alongside a consideration of the extent of electrification on the Great Western route" and would make a further statement in the new year.

A spokesman for Hitachi said: "We are disappointed that there is yet no decision on our bid for the IEP, and therefore on our plans to bring jobs to the UK. We will be continuing our talks with the Department for Transport and will consider our position in the light of these."

Mr Hammond said electrification of commuter services on the Great Western route between London and Didcot, Oxford and Newbury would go ahead. In addition, there would be improvements in Yorkshire's trans-Pennine routes, around Manchester and in South Wales.

He put back until the new year a decision on whether the rest of the Great Western line to south west England and Wales would go ahead.

Mr Hammond did commit the Government to funding "in its entirety" the north-south cross-London Thameslink scheme.

But he said it would finish in 2018 - two years later than planned - due to re-organisation of work at London Bridge station.

The minister confirmed Government funding for Crossrail and also for the Tube upgrade programme in London,and for light rail projects in Birmingham, Tyneside, Nottingham and Sheffield.

He also confirmed funding for developments at Reading, Birmingham, London King's Cross and Gatwick Airport stations.

Mr Hammond has been able to announce a figure of 2,100 new carriages by including not only the Thameslink trains but also those that will run on another cross-London scheme - Crossrail - that will also not be finished until 2018.

And although the Great Western electrification as far as Newbury, to be completed over the next six years, will be welcomed, it is uncertain whether electrification will extend further.

Mr Hammond said discussions would be held "with the Welsh Assembly Government on the business case for electrification into Wales".

Confirming plans announced by the Chancellor in the autumn spending review, Mr Hammond said lines between Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Blackpool would be electrified at a cost of 300 million. Work is expected to begin next year and to be finished in 2016.

In all, the Government will provide 14 billion of funding to Network Rail to support capital maintenance and infrastructure investment over the next four years and also 750 million for high-speed rail.

Commenting on the new carriages, Gerry Doherty, leader of the TSSA rail union, said: "Passengers will obviously be pleased that this will ease their cattle truck-style journeys but they still face a giant 30% jump in their fares over the next four years just to pay for the privilege of a seat.

"Why is it always the poor old passenger who has to foot the bill? Why don't the private rail companies start putting something back into the industry instead of taking 800 million year in subsidies from the taxpayer?"

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, said: "Today's announcement is classic political smoke and mirrors.

"Key infrastructure developments like the intercity fleet have been kicked deep into the long grass and even the carriage procurement numbers have been dressed up to look better than they are with long-term projects mangled up with the urgent replacements required to keep pace with current demand.

"The reality is that the inflation-busting fare increases kick in within weeks while the infrastructure and upgrade works we need to drag the UK's railways out of the slow lane are light years away.

"The profits of the train companies are ring-fenced while the services to passengers are left to rot.

"The travelling public will be rightly angry once the spin and hype around this announcement is exposed and the reality sinks in. They will be robbed blind in the new year to pay for the political promise of jam tomorrow."

Baroness Valentine, chief executive of business group London First, said the Government commitment to Thameslink was "great news for business and commuters alike".

She said: "This sends an important signal that London can cater for growth by renewing and expanding its critical transport infrastructure. Precious new capacity will be welcomed by millions of commuters who start their journey outside the capital."

Jo deBank, of rail passenger watchdog London TravelWatch, said: "We are very pleased that Thameslink is going ahead in its entirety, providing much-needed capacity for inner London and the surrounding commuter regions.

"However, we are disappointed that passengers will have to endure severe disruption for a further three years, especially at a time when passengers are suffering huge fare rises. This delay means it is not so much jam tomorrow, as jam the day after tomorrow.

"We are also delighted that electrification for the commuter services in west London and the Thames Valley has been confirmed. There has been an urgent need for more capacity for passengers for a long time."

Campaign for Better Transport chief executive Stephen Joseph said: "We strongly welcome Government commitments to rail investment, but passengers have heard such promises before.

"The reality is that, for the immediate future, passengers face huge real fare increases along with continued overcrowding and in some cases poor facilities. The coalition promised fair fares in its agreement - this must be backed up with guaranteed investment to tackle overcrowding now, rather than future promises which risk being broken before 2015.

"Promises of 'jam tomorrow' are no comfort for passengers who are 'jammed today' and are expected to pay more for it."

Rail customer watchdog Passenger Focus said passengers would welcome the go-ahead for Thameslink but would have to wait longer to hear about the potential upgrade of the lines to and from London, Wales and the South West.

"Similarly, we are still waiting to hear about plans to replace Britain's ageing high-speed trains," said Passenger Focus.

Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus chief executive, added: "Passengers using crowded trains today and soon paying more for the privilege will want to understand what this means for their train service.

"This is just what rail passengers want to see - long-term, sustained investment. It also gives passengers a clue where some of their fare rise money will be going.

"However, for those passengers who are not going to benefit from these new investments, the industry is going to have to continue to work hard to deliver a value-for-money service."

Wales's governing Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition has tried to put pressure on the Government over the electrification of the Great Western line to Swansea.

Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan said the proposal was still under "serious consideration".

"We should not forget that the last government failed to electrify a single centimetre of track in Wales during their 13 years in office," she said.

"They were, however, more than happy to make uncosted promises which committed the taxpayer to schemes costing hundreds of millions of pounds.

"This government is far more responsible when it comes to public money and it is right that we examine in fine detail projects such as electrification to Swansea."

Plaid AM Dai Lloyd said: "This once again proves that for the Conservatives and the Lib Dems Wales is nothing more than an afterthought.

"I am appalled that the UK coalition government are pushing ahead with billions in investment for London transport links, one of Europe's richest cities, but Wales, one of Europe's poorest regions, is ignored."