Rail industry responds to General Election announcement

The House of Commons have voted for a General Election to be held on 12 December 2019.

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association, said: "The Railway Industry Association and its members have worked hard over the last two years under the present Parliament to shine a light on rail policy, and to campaign where we think improvement is needed.

"Whether smoothing out ‘boom and bust’ in infrastructure and rolling stock investment, securing a visible pipeline of enhancement projects, working to decarbonise and electrify the railways, promote innovation such as hydrogen and battery trains, campaigning in support of major projects like Crossrails 1 and 2, HS2, Transpennnine Route Upgrade, Northern Powerhouse Rail, and East West Rail, or helping members to prepare for and navigate the challenges and opportunities of Brexit, the RIA team and members have worked incredibly hard to get political support for what is after all, major UK transport infrastructure.

"As we head into a General Election, we hope there will not be significant hiatus in rail work or the development of supportive policy for any longer than necessary, and that the Williams and Oakervee Reviews will report soon after the election, so we can all get on with building world-class, customer focused, rail both at home and abroad. As soon as we know the composition of the new Government and Parliament in December, RIA will be engaging with the key players to ensure that this important work continues as soon as possible into the New Year."

1.  About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. We promote and represent our members’ interests to policy makers, clients and other stakeholders in the UK and overseas. RIA has 290+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £36 billion in economic growth and £11 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 600,000 people—more than the workforce of Birmingham. It is also a growing industry with the number of rail journeys expected to double over the next 25 years and freight set to grow significantly too. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). RIA works to promote the importance of the rail system to UK plc, to help export UK expertise around the globe and to share best practice and innovation across the industry. www.riagb.org.uk