Several industry leading bodies have sent a joint letter to the Treasury urging the reconsideration of several aspects of the Bill
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) has joined other large organisations, including the British Chambers of Commerce and the Railways Industry Association, to call for Railways Bill amendments to be made.
The House of Lords is currently scrutinising the Bill, and these organisations want to make sure that future rail infrastructure investment and growth is protected.
Thousands of businesses contributing their thoughts
The organisations taking part in the letter are:
- CECA
- RIA
- ACE
- BCC
- CBI
- Campaign for Better Transport
- GIIA
- Heathrow Southern Railway
- Intelligent Transport Systems UK
- Logistics UK
- UK Major Ports Group
Combined, these groups represent millions of workers, and they have all lent their voice to the letter which calls for reconsideration of two key parts of the Bill.
Namely, the proposed Railways Bill amendments are changes to:
Schedule 2
As drafted, the Bill currently allows a future Transport Secretary of State to effectively reduce ‘five-year’ infrastructure funding settlements at any time, weakening business confidence and jeopardising future investment. Stable, visible long-term funding is essential to control costs, support timely delivery, and encourage innovation and investment, and for the last 35 years have been a long-established way of funding infrastructure maintenance and renewals.
Clause 72
The Railways Bill also as currently drafted, creates new powers for Government to change legislation in future in areas that would affect investments in and around the railway, including depots, freight terminals, port and airport terminals, and devolved rail networks.
“An important opportunity to establish Great British Railways on a stable footing”
CECA director of policy & public affairs, Ben Goodwin, said: “The UK’s rail network is the backbone of the nation’s economy and is a critical driver of growth, connectivity, and productivity that is vital to businesses and communities everywhere.
“CECA members and their supply chain invest, train, and innovate based on clear future workloads. Any weakening of the five-year funding settlement model risks undermining industry confidence, increasing costs, and making it harder to deliver, maintain, and upgrade the network efficiently.
“The Railways Bill is an important opportunity to establish Great British Railways on a stable footing for the future, but this must be done in a manner that boosts industry confidence rather than undermining certainty of investment.
“With targeted amendments to safeguard the stability of future investment and protect confidence across the UK rail sector, the government can help unlock private sector investment, create jobs, and support world-class skills in our industry, and ensuring the rail sector can continue to underpin economic growth in all parts of the country for the future.”
The full letter from the coalition can be found here.
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