The UK Parliament rose for its summer recess on Thursday 20 July leaving the rail industry still in the dark on a variety of topics, including Great British Railways, rail reform and the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP).
The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has called for government to reveal its thinking on these issues. Earlier this year, RIA and the leaders of 70 leading rail supply organisations sent an open letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, copied to Department for Transport (DfT) ministers, urging progress on rail reform legislation. That letter has not been answered. RIA claims that, unless either progress is made quickly, or an announcement is made that rail reform is not going ahead, there will be a hiatus both in terms of political decision-making and railway industry work.
Furthermore, the association claims, unless plans on how track and train are to be brought closer together are announced, and operators are incentivised to increase ticket sales, rail patronage and revenues will not grow as quickly as they could.
When the new RNEP process was launched in March 2018, the government said it was “taking a new approach to the way it enhances the railway. It is creating a rolling programme of investment that continues to focus on outcomes that deliver real benefits for passengers, freight users and the economy.”
In the Autumn 2019 update, the DfT stated: “The Department is committed to transparent policy making and this document is intended to be a clear public statement on which schemes are at each decision gateway.” It then added: “The list of schemes in development will be updated in future publications, on an annual basis.”
No further update has been made, despite RIA’s urgings and even government ministers admitting how embarrassing that is.
RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: “With Parliament rising for the summer, the Railway Industry Association and our members once again ask for certainty on UK rail policy and enhancement projects. We urge Ministers related to rail and its funding to have a good break over the summer, and then come back in the autumn recharged and ready to make clear pronouncements on how it intends to take both forward.
“It is of course disappointing that we get to the end of another parliamentary session with no clearer idea about the future structure of UK rail, or the timescale within which decisions will be made and plans announced. The communications vacuum is a worry – if there is not to be progress on Great British Railways and rail reform, then we urge the government to announce this so that the railway industry – which represent thousands of jobs, and billions of pounds of GVA and Treasury tax revenue – can plan with certainty that the current set-up will continue for the medium-term. Uncertainty merely fuels fears of hiatus for rail businesses.
“Similarly, we go into another summer not knowing progress on the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline. It is coming up to four years since the last announcement on these rail projects, and we in the rail supply community are regularly told there will be a progress update ‘soon’. We once again respectfully ask the Government to announce its thinking on this as soon as possible, so rail businesses can plan and resource appropriately for the months and years ahead.”
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