As the House of Lords begins its scrutiny of the Railways Bill, leading trade associations and transport organisations have jointly written to the Treasury, calling for the Government to make amendments to safeguard future rail infrastructure investment and growth across the economy.
The organisations, which together represent thousands of businesses, and millions of employees, and are calling for changes to two parts of the Railways Bill which could weaken business confidence and deter investment.
- Schedule 2. As drafted, the Bill currently allows a future Transport Secretary of State to effectively reduce ‘five-year’ infrastructure funding settlements at any time, weakening business confidence and jeopardising future investment. Stable, visible long-term funding is essential to control costs, support timely delivery, and encourage innovation and investment, and for the last 35 years have been a long-established way of funding infrastructure maintenance and renewals.
- Clause 72. The Railways Bill also as currently drafted, creates new powers for Government to change legislation in future in areas that would affect investments in and around the railway, including depots, freight terminals, port and airport terminals, and devolved rail networks.
The coalition is therefore calling for safeguards to help maintain investment certainty, attract future private funding and support the Government’s growth agenda. The letter makes the case for Great British Railways to be established to attract additional investment from third-party partners to support an effective and resilient transport system that underpins economic growth.
Commenting, CECA Director of Policy & Public Affairs Ben Goodwin said: “The UK’s rail network is the backbone of the nation’s economy and is a critical driver of growth, connectivity, and productivity that is vital to businesses and communities everywhere.
“CECA members and their supply chain invest, train, and innovate based on clear future workloads. Any weakening of the five-year funding settlement model risks undermining industry confidence, increasing costs, and making it harder to deliver, maintain, and upgrade the network efficiently.
“The Railways Bill is an important opportunity to establish Great British Railways on a stable footing for the future, but this must be done in a manner that boosts industry confidence rather than undermining certainty of investment.
“With targeted amendments to safeguard the stability of future investment and protect confidence across the UK rail sector, the Government can help unlock private sector investment, create jobs, and support world-class skills in our industry, and ensuring the rail sector can continue to underpin economic growth in all parts of the country for the future.”
Railway Industry Association (RIA) Chief Executive Darren Caplan said: “The Railways Bill represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a modern railway that supports growth, attracts investment and delivers value for taxpayers. So the changes we are proposing are targeted, practical and will help save public money.
“As the Bill enters the Second Reading in the House of Lords, there is an opportunity to ensure this enduring legislation provides the long-term certainty investors need and protects confidence across businesses. By making a small number of targeted amendments, the Bill can be strengthened to boost greater private investment and help ensure the UK railway continues to deliver economic benefits for passengers, businesses and taxpayers for years to come.”
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