£140m Elizabeth line upgrade plan to tackle disruption after delays and cancelled trains
Network Rail has announced an 'accelerated performance improvement plan' to address issues affecting the Elizabeth Line west of Paddington. Work to 'stabilise' the issues that have led to cancellations and delays - including passengers being left stuck in trains 'for hours' in December - will take place over the next six months, officials say. The following 12 months will see 'longer term improvements' to the network to tackle the 'key causes of disruption', which will be followed by work towards 'sustaining and renewing the network '. Network Rail is allocating nearly £140 million of dedicated funds. These will be from existing budgets with the majority (£104m) being set aside from Network Rail’s CP7 budgets from 2024 to 2029. No additional taxpayer funding has been requested. READ MORE: HS2 launches new London tunneling machine after boss says he is 'disappointed' at axeing of northern leg Sadiq Khan...