The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has rejected a bid for a new train service from a village in Hampshire to London Waterloo because of the extensive infrastructure work that would be required.<\/p>\n
Alliance Rail applied to ORR to run hourly trains from Marchwood in Hampshire to Southampton and then London Waterloo. The planned train route would have seen a section of the Totton to Fawley branch line reopened, while the rest would have used the South West Main Line.<\/p>\n
However, in a letter posted on its website, ORR said the application would require \u201csignificant investment and network change to be operationally viable\u201d.<\/p>\n
The work would include the reopening, refurbishing and potential resiting of Marchwood Station, as well as bringing platform 5 at Southampton Central into passenger use. ORR also pointed to the need for upgrades and enhancements to the line between Marchwood and Totton to reclassify it from freight to passenger use.<\/p>\n
The letter stated: \u201cWe agree all these works are necessary and where the applicant is the cause of required investment it should provide funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no definitive cost estimate or delivery plan for this.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlliance Rail and Network Rail provided estimates of the necessary investment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difference (of several millions) in the estimates shows the need for an agreed funding plan for the works. The Alliance Rail estimate provided was at a high-level, while the Network Rail breakdown of the costs was credible.\u201d<\/p>\n
With these factors in mind, ORR concluded that it did not consider the application to meet its requirements for operational viability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number of unresolved operational details for the application include infrastructure works at Marchwood and Southampton stations, as well as the track to Marchwood and we are concerned by the absence of a funded plan for delivering these works,\u201d the regulator said.<\/p>\n
The letter also set out Network Rail\u2019s belief that Southampton Central does not have capacity to support additional services with extended dwell times.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur assessment is that Network Rail has provided credible evidence that the capacity for Alliance Rail\u2019s proposed services does not currently exist,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also agree that platform capacity introduces a constraint.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concluding its letter, ORR said it considered the beneficial elements of the application but decided to \u201cplace more emphasis on the potential performance impacts, lack of capacity and concerns over operational viability\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis led us to place additional weight to our duties to promote improvements in railway service performance and to promote the use and development of the network to the greatest extent that we consider economically practicable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have therefore rejected this application.\u201d<\/p>\n