Surrey welcomes rail plan

Following a report by Network Rail about improving rail services from Waterloo, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Transport John Furey said:

“It’s awful feeling like a sardine packed into a train carriage. These plans are good news for Surrey’s commuters and economy. They include electrifying the North Downs Line, more platforms and ways to ease bottlenecks, all of which we called for in our rail strategy to tackle overcrowding and boost growth.

“Good transport links are essential to helping drive the country’s continued recovery and with Surrey generating almost £33 billion annually for the UK economy and contributing more income tax to the national Exchequer than any area outside London, it is vital that we continue to push to ensure plans become a reality so the county’s rail network meets passenger demand.”

Surrey’s rail strategy can be found on the county council website. It sets out how:

• Rail improvements will promote economic growth and create jobs
• Overcrowding can be tackled
• Rail investment benefits Surrey
• Surrey’s railways will be affected by increases in housing, employment and population growth.