RIA: railway industry now faces a ‘summer of uncertainty’

The Railway Industry Association, the voice of the UK rail supply community, recently highlighted that there would be a ‘summer of uncertainty’ for the railway industry if the Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan, Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) and Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the Midlands & North did not get published before parliamentary recess.
 
With the House of Commons rising today for the Summer, the RNEP and the IRP have still not been released, despite repeated indications in the first half of this year that they would be. Encouragingly, the Transport Decarbonisation Plan was published earlier this month, which was welcomed by RIA.
 
Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association (RIA), said: “Whilst it was good to see the Transport Decarbonisation Plan published – which the Railway Industry Association and its members broadly welcomed, given it supports a robust plan to decarbonise the railway network in the coming years – we are still awaiting an update on the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline and the release of the Integrated Rail Plan.
 
“Without seeing the details of enhancement schemes around the country, and the Government’s plan for the railways in the north and midlands, rail suppliers of all types and sizes simply will not be able to prepare their teams, resources and business plans over the summer. This lack of certainty and visibility makes it more difficult to build and enhance the UK’s railway network as efficiently and cost-effectively as it otherwise could.
 
“The RNEP – a list of planned rail upgrades – has not been published for over 20 months, even though it was understood this would happen annually. The delay has meant that at least £1.5 billion has been cut from the rail enhancements budget, as the funds are returned to Government if not used. Similarly, the delay to the IRP has seen work halted just this week on HS2’s Eastern Leg, and Transport for the North have reported they expect it to delay the delivery of Northern Powerhouse Rail by a year.
 
“We sympathise with the Government on the difficult impact the Coronavirus pandemic has had on budgets, yet we are simply seeking certainty and visibility on what the Government intends to do. This ‘summer of uncertainty’ will not help rail suppliers as they seek to deliver a world-class railway network to the timescale and budget the Government wants for the years ahead. We hope by the time Parliament returns, the Government provides the railway industry with the visibility it needs so that ultimately rail businesses can play their part in supporting the economic growth, jobs and investment the UK requires to bounceback from the Coronavirus pandemic.”

1. The Network Rail May 2021 Update (available here) shows the budget for rail enhancements is now £8.9bn, a £1.5bn reduction from the original £10.4bn settlement for Control Period 6 (which is confirmed in the ORR’s Final Determination (available here), which says in Point 93 that “£10.4bn (in cash prices) initially allocated through the SoFA to support the delivery of enhancements.”
2. The previous press release on the 'Summer of uncertainty' can be found here.
3. 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. RIA has some 300 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 vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK. 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