Rail investment boom and bust is at the centre of a dispute between the Government and the Transport Committee. The Government rejected the idea that rail funding has followed a system-wide cycle, except for rolling stock. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.
In its response to the Transport Committee’s Rail Investment Pipelines report, the Government accepted that “the perception of such cycles is clearly felt by parts of the supply chain,” but said there was no evidence of boom and bust across overall rail funding.
Also, the Government said it “shares the Committee’s ambition to reduce unnecessary volatility and strengthen long-term clarity in rail investment”. Still, it accepted very few of the Committee’s specific recommendations for achieving that aim.
Rail investment boom and bust and the RNEP
The Committee had called for the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline to be revamped and kept up to date. The RNEP has not been publicly updated since 2019.
Instead, the Government proposed a different structure. This included a “potential pipeline” of schemes that could be taken forward if funding became available. It did not say when this information would be released or what format it would use.
Ruth Cadbury calls for more certainty
Transport Committee Chair Ruth Cadbury said: “The rail industry needs certainty in the supply chain but the response to our report does not fill the Committee with confidence that the Government is seized with the necessary urgency to address this.
“Firstly, I’m disappointed that Government does not recognise something that we heard throughout our inquiry – namely that investment in the railways has frequently been characterised by boom and bust cycles which create damaging uncertainty for the supply chain.
“Secondly, while I’m pleased that Government shares the Committee’s ambition to strengthen long-term clarity in rail investment, it’s clear that more detail is needed about how this will be achieved. The Government leans very heavily on the integration to be achieved under Great British Railways as a way of addressing these issues, but we can’t rely on a smoother, more efficient investment pipeline arising simply as a by-product of those reforms.
“This is not just about the supply chain, but about the delivery of more reliable services at a lower cost: erratic investment in electrification over decades is a stark example of how boom and bust has damaged the railways’ service to passengers.
“The Committee will now be looking for further details about exactly what will be done to inject much-needed certainty and steadiness into rail investment. As we do so, I look forward to hearing what the industry makes of the Government’s response to our report.”
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