All UK policy articles – Page 3
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Rail Business UKHaigh 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 UKHS2 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 UKGovernment 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 UKWales 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 UKInterview: ‘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 UKTicket 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 UKGovernment 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 UKRetailers 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 UKFive 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 UKOperator 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 UKWilliams 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 UKArmitt 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 UKBurnham 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 UKThe 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 UKAvanti 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 ...
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Rail Business UKRail freight sector needs more certainty to enable long-term growth
UK: Train operator owning group association Rail Partners has published Freight Britain: An Engine for Green Growth, outlining five policies it would like to see to support the long-term growth of rail freight beyond the general election. These are: to address the widening gap between ...
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Rail Business UKRail reform makes limited progress with unclear plans
UK: The government’s rail reforms are facing delays and there are long-standing issues that need to be addressed including financial sustainability, according to a National Audit Office report published on March 8. After the white paper on rail reform was published in May 2021, the Department ...
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Rail Business UKRail sector responds to the Spring Budget
UK: The rail sector has responded to he spring budget presented by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt on March 6. Rail Partners Chief Executive Andy Bagnall said ‘Britain has a legally binding target to meet net zero by 2050, and the budget today does nothing ...
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Rail Business UKEnglish public transport in a ‘precarious position’ says UTG
UK: Public transport in English city regions is in a ‘precarious position’, the Urban Transport Group said when it published its Inside Track: The state of transport 2024 report into trends over the last decade. The number of trips made per person in 2022 was 862, ...
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Rail Business UKLondon trial of all-day Friday off-peak fares agreed
UK: Agreement has been reached to trial all-day off-peak rail and Underground fares in London on Fridays from March 8 until May 31. The aim of the trial is to help Transport for London and train operators understand the impact of lower fares on ridership and ...