Your railway: 2019-2024

As Control Period 6 ends, we’re looking back on what we have achieved over the last five years.

What is a control period?

We are funded for the operations, maintenance and renewal of the railway in five year cycles called ‘control periods’. We are about to reach the end of Control Period 6 (CP6) which started in April 2019 and ends in March 2024.

What we’ve delivered

Here are some examples of the great work we’ve delivered these last five years.

Better stations

We gave you better stations, big and small across the railway, to help improve your journey. From new concourses, roof renewals and platform upgrades to improved accessibility, we covered it. A better station experience – at the beginning and end of your rail journey – is as important to us as it is to you.

Read about how we’ve improved your station experience over the past five years.

Supporting our communities

Since 2019, we’ve helped you travel more than 170bn kilometres over more than 4.5bn journeys. From celebrations across the country to keeping goods and essential workers moving during the pandemic, we’re proud to have played an important role in extraordinary times – and to be there for you.

Journey upgrades

Over the past five years we’ve made a huge number of improvements to your journeys across Britain. From adding 50% more seats on the Midland Main Line during peak times to reopening the stunning Grade II listed Barmouth Viaduct after a four-year restoration, we’ve improved connections and station experiences for communities across Britain.

Regular passenger services

We worked with industry partners to restore lost railway connections and make new ones. From new stations in Inverness and Kent, to reopening regular passengers’ services between Exeter and Okehampton for the first time in 50 years, we’ve made great strides in connecting more people by rail.

Read about how we brought you more connections and better rail journeys over the past five years.

Improving sustainability and resilience

Over the last five years, we’ve worked hard to make the railway more sustainable and resilient. We launched an Extreme Weather Resilience Task Force, to help the railway prepare for more severe weather in the future and reached a milestone in partnering with suppliers to tackle climate change. We’re doing everything we can to contribute to a sustainable Britain and reduce the impact of extreme weather on journeys – for our passengers and freight customers.

Read about how we’ve been busy making the railway even more sustainable for generations.

Working efficiently

We’ve spent the last five years finding better ways to work, spending our funding wisely and delivering value for money. We’ve delivered £4bn of efficiencies in operations, maintenance, and renewals (running the railway) by pursuing better value and doing more for less.

Read about how we’ve brought you a railway that’s better value for money.

CP6 highlights

The map below shows some of our achievements over the last five years. These milestones are broken down into our five regions, which is how we are organised as a business to make sure our services and decisions meet the needs of passengers, customers and communities.

A map showing just some of the major projects we delivered on the railway in Control Period 6

Eastern region

London to Corby route electrified – £1.5bn upgrade for greener trains and 50% more seats at peak times between London and Corby.
£18.6m Soham station opened after the old station closed in 1965.
New track layout at London King’s Cross and replacement of 40 year-old tracks.

North West & Central region

Ribblehead Viaduct repaired – £2.1m investment as part of the Great North Rail Project.
Birmingham hosted Commonwealth Games – more than two million people passed through Birmingham New Street in 12 days in 2022.

Scotland’s Railway

£120m Scottish Government-funded rebuild of Glasgow Queen Street station.
New stations opened at East Linton, Kintore, Reston and Inverness Airport.

Southern region

Brighter and better Gatwick Airport station with a new concourse and entrance.
Southampton freight port upgraded – more space at the country’s second busiest container port.

Wales & Western region

£30m restoration of the iconic Barmouth Viaduct
Dartmoor Line reopened and regular passenger trains returned to Okehampton after 50 years.
Rebuild of the Dawlish sea wall, protecting this coastal route from severe weather.