All UK policy articles – Page 2
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Rail Business UK
RMT backs Labour win but says ‘no blank cheques’
UK: The National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers has given qualified backing to Labour ahead of the general election on July 4. RMT issued a statement on June 5 saying the Labour party supports ‘public ownership and reintegration of large parts of the railway’, ...
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Rail Business UK
Ticket reform and an international rail strategy in Campaign for Better Transport wish list
UK: The Campaign for Better Transport charity has published a general election manifesto setting out its transport asks for the next government. For the rail sector, it says the next government should: reform ticketing, freeze fares while fuel duty remains frozen, base annual increases on ...
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Rail Business UK
Five recommendations to unleash the potential of rail
UK: Industry association Rail Forum has published an ‘Unleashing the potential of rail: an enabler of economic prosperity’ policy document, outlining five policies for the next government which says would offer significant benefits for customers, taxpayers and the supply chain. Rail Forum wants to see: ...
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Rail Business UK
Railway Industry Association calls for a ‘fresh start’ after the election
UK: Ahead of the July 4 general election the Railway Industry Association has published a manifesto setting out its five main asks for the next parliament and calling for a fresh start for rail. RIA calls on the next government to: publish a long-term rail ...
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Rail Business UK
Liverpool – Manchester Railway Board created to push for construction of new line
UK: A Liverpool – Manchester Railway Board has been launched by the two cities’ metro mayors and other stakeholders to lead the development of proposals for a high speed line between the conurbations. The government has said that up to £17bn is to be made available for the new line ...
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Rail Business UK
Haigh confirms open access operators’ role in Labour’s rail plans
UK: ‘Open access operators like these will play a role in the future of our railways under Labour’, Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said when she officially opened Hull Trains’ Learning & Development Academy.
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Rail Business UK
HS2 Phase 2b formally scrapped in favour of Liverpool – Manchester railway
UK: A vote in parliament on the evening of May 21 brought a formal end to work on the Crewe to Manchester leg of HS2.
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Rail Business UK
Government is not putting passengers and taxpayers first, says Public Accounts Committee
UK: The government has made little progress in implementing its plans for rail which are now largely on hold until the next parliament, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee says in its report into rail reform which was published on May 27. In particular, PAC ...
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Rail Business UK
Wales ready for rail reform
UK: Speaking to the UK parliamentary Transport Select Committee on May 21, the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for North Wales & Transport, Ken Skates, set out his three requests from the Westminster government as part of the emerging reform programme to establish Great British Railways. Skates called ...
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Rail Business UK
Interview: ‘Welsh rail services are improving rapidly’
UK: Transport for Wales Rail’s Chief Operating Officer Jan Chaudhry-van der Velde is optimistic about progress being made in transforming passenger services across the country, despite the financial and operational headwinds facing the Welsh transport sector.
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Rail Business UK
Ticket retailer calls for access to all train fares
UK: A ‘Charter for Change’ calling for third-party retailers to be given full access to all ticketing products has been launched by Virgin Trains Ticketing. This calls for: all tickets, fares and discounts to be made available for sale through all channels, enabling third party ...
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Rail Business UK
Government proposes lowering the minimum age to be a train driver
UK: Industry bodies and drivers’ union ASLEF have welcomed the start of consultation on a government proposal to lower the minimum age to become a train driver in Great Britain from 20 to 18. The consultation runs from May 16 to June 13. If given the ...
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Rail Business UK
Retailers says competition can improve train ticketing
UK: Representatives of independent ticket retailer Trainline and distribution technology company SilverRail have been questioned by the House of Commons Transport Committee as part of its scrutiny of the government’s draft Rail Reform Bill.
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Rail Business UK
Five things the next government needs to do provide rail capacity and connectivity
UK: The High Speed Rail Group has published its High Speed Rail: Exploiting the Potential report, setting out five things it believes the next government should do to maximise the potential of high speed rail to provide new capacity and connectivity. The recommendations are to: ...
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Rail Business UK
Operator of last resort holds key to Labour’s rail renationalisation aspiration
UK: Rail Business UK has been speaking to industry leaders as they start to digest the rail policy proposals set out by the Labour Party ahead of the forthcoming general election.
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Rail Business UK
Williams Review author backs Labour plan to adopt Great British Railways reforms in full
UK: Sir Keith Williams has lent his backing to plans by the Labour Party to implement a standalone ‘guiding mind’ for the rail sector if it wins the upcoming General Election.
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Rail Business UK
Armitt criticises ‘blurred picture’ for rail development in wake of HS2 axe
UK: ‘It hasn’t been a great six months for rail’, suggested Sir John Armitt, Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, in his keynote address to the Northern Transport Summit on March 21. Armitt was among a raft of policymakers and transport officials at the event who ...
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Rail Business UK
Burnham urges rail sector to accelerate integration into Manchester’s Bee Network
UK: Greater Manchester Metro Mayor Andy Burnham has pledged to accelerate integration of local rail services into the nascent Bee Network of public transport provision if he is re-elected on May 2. The Bee Network is a locally developed brand already being applied to Manchester Metrolink light ...
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Rail Business UK
The right policies could increase ticket revenue without higher fares, says RIA
UK: The Railway Industry Association has published a ‘fresh blueprint’ for ticketing reform, saying a focus on customer experience and boosting ridership could drive revenue growth without needing to increase fares. The Destination: Revenue Growth report based on input from RIA’s members was launched by Innovation ...
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Rail Business UK
Avanti West Coast won’t be nationalised, says Minister
UK: The government will not terminate Avanti West Coast’s operating contract, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has told the House of Commons. At Transport Questions on March 21, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan asked ‘a simple question to the Minister today, will he strip Avanti of ...