UK: The rail industry has responded to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on March 26. This made no direct reference to the sector, however announcements could be made in the spending review scheduled for June.
Railway Industry Association CEO Darren Caplan said ’RIA welcomes the Chancellor’s ongoing support for major rail projects and commitment to investing in rail infrastructure including through the use of private funding. We would encourage the government to do more in terms of bringing forward its long-term rail strategy and proposed pipeline for rolling stock, to help the railway industry in what is a period of uncertainty for rail suppliers with Great British Railways not due to be established until 2027.
‘Delays in decisions on major projects, enhancements, as well as train-building and refurbishments make it more difficult for businesses to plan ahead or for SMEs to survive, and it also makes it harder to attract business investment.’
Blake Richmond, Chief Operating Officer at signalling and traffic management technology company Resonate, said ’we welcome further investment in data technologies and AI, which are key to modernising rail industry processes. Adopting smarter, data-driven systems, creates more opportunities to develop AI to optimise these flows across an increasingly connected transport system, supporting long-term economic growth and regional development.’
Chris Ball, UK & Ireland President at AtkinsRéalis, said ‘it is encouraging to see the Chancellor repeat her commitment to increase capital spending on infrastructure. The UK urgently needs to upgrade its ageing infrastructure and deliver systems, networks and built environments fit for the future’.
The RMT union’s new General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said ‘unless there is a fundamental shift in the structure of our economy that redistributes wealth toward investment in our infrastructure, housing, and services, the cycle of falling living standards and shifting wealth to the super-rich and corporations will continue for a generation.’ He said ‘one-third of public spending is handed to outsourcing firms, including those profiting from our fragmented and privatised rail system. Labour’s plan to bring rail back into public ownership is a step in the right direction, but it is about having a different kind of ethos and creating a society where people have secure well paid employment, decent public services and a social safety net that catches them if they fall on hard times.’
