Industry reacts to news of £9 billion rail investment

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What has the rail industry made of the government’s HLOS programme?

Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) said:

“This announcement is good for the economy and the environment.  It signals the coalition government’s ongoing commitment to rail and enables the industry to build on recent improvements to provide yet better services.

“Extending electrification, completing the Northern Hub and tackling overcrowding into London will help more people to get to work faster and more reliably, making our towns and cities more attractive to businesses and spreading the benefits of economic activity across the country.

“The planned investment will be paid for jointly by taxpayers and passengers.  Train operators and Network Rail are committed to work with government to improve the efficiency of our industry, making every pound of investment go further and reducing the pressure on future fares levels.”

David Higgins, Network Rail chief executive, said:

“Today the government has issued a strong vote of confidence in the railway, and in our ability to deliver sustainable economic growth through development of, and investment in, the network. It is also a vote of confidence in the success of rail over the last decade, with over one million more trains per year with half a billion more passengers, at record levels of safety, punctuality and satisfaction.

“We do not underestimate the task laid down for us, but we will work alongside industry partners in the Rail Delivery Group to respond with a suitable plan. There are some tough targets, made even more challenging with the need to deliver record numbers of services on essentially Victorian infrastructure. That is why the pledge to invest billions of pounds in projects to improve, update and transform our railway is not only welcome but essential. Alongside this we will continue to deliver the highest possible levels of safety and performance across the network, while reducing costs for the remainder of this control period and the next.”

David Horne, managing director of East Midlands Trains, said:

“We welcome the news that the government has today given the go-ahead to fund both the electrification and the upgrading of the Midland Main Line. This is a significant announcement which benefits our passengers and the communities we serve. Electrification will provide a smoother, quieter and quicker ride for passengers, cutting journey times while crucially delivering more capacity to cater for future growth.

“Not only will it be good for the environment, the project will create hundreds of jobs during the construction period, providing an estimated £450m of wider economic benefits to the cities and towns we serve.”

“Today’s announcement is a particular credit to the combined efforts of MPs and councillors from all parties, East Midlands councils, South Yorkshire PTE, local authorities and the LEPs throughout the East Midlands and South Yorkshire who have all worked together with the rail industry to argue the need for this investment to Government.

“Electrification will significantly reduce the costs of rolling stock, energy, track access and maintenance. It is estimated that electrifying the line from Bedford to Sheffield will save up to £60m every year in industry costs. That means within ten years of completion, the electrification of the line will have paid for itself and will continue to reduce the cost of rail to the taxpayer year on year.”

Paul Curtis, RailStaff magazine:

Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus chief executive, said:

“Passengers will welcome the scale and ambition of this investment. Our research shows that passengers’ main priorities for rail improvement include more trains arriving on time, more and longer trains and more chance of getting a seat – these announcements will help meet these aspirations.

“Value for money remains a concern. Passengers will want to see the Government avoid above-inflation fare increases. These investments must be delivered in a cost-effective way. Also, the work to deliver the new trains, track and equipment must be done in a way that minimise the effect on today’s passengers.”

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said:

“What we need is investment in rail today not yet another political promise of jam tomorrow.

“All of the rail projects on this shopping list have been talked about for years and with the surge in passenger demand we cannot afford further delays like the ongoing Thameslink fleet replacement fiasco. We have the chance to create thousands of rail jobs if the politicians wake up and get these projects moving.

“However, RMT will fight any cynical attempt to finance investment at some date way off in the future by sacking guards and smashing up ticket offices as recommended in the Governments McNulty Command Paper.

“The truth that the Government choose to ignore is that all of these investments could be funded overnight without costing taxpayers or passengers a penny if they called a halt to the multi-billion pound rip off of rail privatisation.”

The Railway Industry Association has welcomed today’s announcement by Government of major investment in the UK railway network.

Rail Industry Association (RIA) director general Jeremy Candfield said:

“Today’s commitment to future investment in the railways rightly recognises the importance to the economy of fast, reliable train services for passengers and freight. It will bring great benefits to the travelling public, freight hauliers and the nation as a whole.

“The railway suppliers now look forward to working with Government, Network Rail and the train operators to develop plans in more detail so that these proposals can be delivered as efficiently as possible. Greater confidence in future workloads will help suppliers to invest in the people and equipment that we need for tomorrow’s railway. The central role given by the Statement to a rolling programme of electrification work, which industry has long advocated, will facilitate the economic delivery of this important upgrade.

“This is an important long-term announcement with strategic implications for the future of the railway, not just for the next five years. We welcome it, and look forward to its implementation.”

Vernon Barker, managing director of First UK Rail division, said:

“Today’s announcement is excellent news for the railway and for passengers up and down the country.

“This is an unprecedented level of investment in the rail network and will do much to increase capacity and reliability.  From electrification of the Great Western main line to the Northern Hub, these upgrades will benefit the whole country and make rail an even more attractive way to travel.

“As the UK’s largest rail operator, FirstGroup looks forward to working closely with Network Rail to deliver these improvements as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum said:

“The Derby and Derbyshire Rail Forum welcomes the publication of the High Level Output Specification (HLOS)  today.

“The HLOS renews the government’s commitment to expanding the electrified railway and upgrading key main line routes in Control Period 5 (2014-2019).

“With a membership of over 100 highly skilled and specialist rail related businesses the DDRF will be looking to engage as soon as practicable with Network Rail to see how we can support this massive investment programme.

“Today’s announcement is not only good news for the East Midlands but will also be welcomed by business and passenger groups across the UK.”

Philippa Oldham, head of transport at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said:

“The UK’s railways are long overdue a revamp, and these improvements, as well as high-speed rail, should help boost UK business, skills and jobs.

“This will also help boost passenger capacity on the UK train network, which is so vital to accommodating people wanting to make the low-carbon choice of using the UK railway network.

“There needs to be further clarity on who is going to meet the costs for these investments however to make sure people aren’t put off rail travel due to prohibitively expensive fares.

“The country also needs more than just piecemeal, headline-grabbing initiatives. Government must make sure that its approach to railways, forms part of a long-term integrated vision for the country’s entire transport network, and indeed part of a joined-up industrial strategy.”

John Cridland, CBI director general, said:

“This announcement demonstrates a welcome commitment from the government to provide much-needed additional capacity and electrification for our heavily-used rail network.

“Schemes like the Northern Hub and new ‘Electric Spine’ will bring our cities closer together and provide a spur to businesses up and down the country.

“Building on today, I look forward to seeing further ambitious investment decisions for the road network.”

Stephen Joseph, Campaign for Better Transport’s chief executive, said:

“The investment announced today is good news for the railways, especially the electrification projects which will cut carbon and reduce running costs. However, we are disappointed that the government has confirmed RPI+3 per cent fare rises for the next two years.

“Pricing people off the railways will mean many passengers simply won’t be able to afford the benefits this investment will bring. At a time when public subsidy of the railways is falling and efficiency savings in the industry are already reducing costs, there is simply no need to make passengers pay over the odds.”

Andrew McNaughton, Deputy CEO of Balfour Beatty, said:

“Balfour Beatty welcomes the government’s announcement to invest more than £9 billion in our rail network.

“We are already supporting the maintenance of the network and development of several core rail programmes aimed at improving capacity and journey time such as civil engineering and electrification projects across the network.  These include Crossrail and our work with Thameslink including Blackfriars Station.  In addition, Parsons Brinckerhoff, our professional services arm, has recently announced two significant contracts covering design of both ‘high-speed’ and ‘conventional’ railway systems for the HS2 rail link. 

“This news provides much needed investment in to our rail network, but additionally, in the current economic environment, can only help our country as it underpins the value the government places on infrastructure and how it is critical to help the economy develop and grow.”

1 COMMENT

  1. What has the rail industry made of the government’s HLOS programme?
    We welcome the opportunity that the government decision (to underwrite our borrowing costs until the passenger has finished paying it off) gives us to line our pockets with a percentage that I cannot reveal (due to commercially sensitive contractual matters with the DfT). My fellow directors have been instructed not to leave any trace of the emails regarding Bollinger.

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