West Coast Mainline Modernisation. Project Analysis Essay

West Coast Mainline Modernisation. Project Analysis - Essay Example The various transportation facilities and infrastructure that are developed in the process are roads, bridges, rails and other facilities that aid in mobility and access. These developments are done in stage or per project basis that ascertains specific end-results employing project management. Project Management is previously a management philosophy that soon evolved into a business process (Kerzner, 2009). It involves planning, organising, securing and managing resources to achieve goals. It is to be understood that a project has its specific start and ending, and is dependent on time, budget or funding, and deliverables. It is usually expected to bring positive or beneficial results. Its temporary nature make it unique from business operations which is a continuous one or somewhat permanent in the delivery of products or services. This paper will discuss and analyse a rail industry project – the West Coast Main Line Modernisation - and describe the project management proble ms encountered in this project completion. In the project implementation of a rail, various management stages involved are Output Definition, Pre-Feasibility, Option Selection, Single Option Development, Detailed Design, Construction, Testing and Commissioning, Scheme Handback and Project Close Out (Network Rail, 2003). †¢ A brief description of your chosen project. The West Coast Main Line or WCML is the rail backbone of United Kingdom when it comes to importance and number of populations served. It underwent several modernisation stages and the latest of which was the Network Rail modernisation that commenced by the 1990s. Plans for the upgrade and renewal of the line by Virgin Trains for the tilting Pendolino trains with increased speed of 140 mph or 225 km/h was aborted when deemed ambitious. The proposed upgrade involved the adoption of the moving block signalling which worked with light rail systems and metro lines, but not yet proven with high-speed heavy rail network (O ffice of Rail Regulation, 2007). Owned by Network Rail, WCML is the busiest mixed traffic railway route provider, an intercity link connecting London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow to the West Midlands, North West, North Wales, and the Central Belt of Scotland. Handling about 75 million passengers per annum translated to about 43% of UK’s rail freight traffic, it is also links many other smaller towns and cities serving as a suburban railway. The various operators of the WCML are Virgin Trains, East Coast, London Midland, Southern, CrossCountry, First TransPennine Express, Northern Rail, Arriva Trains Wales, First ScotRail, DB Schenker Rail (UK), GB Railfreight, Freightliner Ltd., and Direct Rail Services Ltd (Network Rail, 2007). It was designated a priority Trans-European Networks route. It connects to European mainland via the Channel Tunnel. In 1955, it was modernised and electrified implemented in stages from 1959 to 1974. Electrification was first implem ented on the route from Crewe to Manchester completed by 1960, followed by Crewe to Liverpool by 1962, London by 1965, Birmingham by 1967, and Weaver Junction to Glasgow by 1974. The introduction of the Inter-City brand in 1966 came with high-speed long-distance services where journey clocked in 2 hours and 40 minutes from London to Manchester or Liverpool (Thomas, 1971). Modern coaches followed with the Mark 2 and air-conditioned Mark 3, and soon linespeed was raised to 110 mph or 177 km/h with electric locomotives that doubled passenger traffic from 1962 to 1975 (British Railways