NRIL RAIL MANIFESTO NORTH OF ENGLAND Key Regional Stats In the North of England, rail contributes: • £7.1bn GVA to the economy; • 130,000 jobs; • £2bn in tax revenue.
RIA’s Key UK Asks 1. Continue to invest in major rail schemes post-Coronavirus and support rail’s role in supporting the economic recovery; 2. Increase visibility of rail schemes, including publishing the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline; Williams Rail Review; Integrated Rail Plan and Transport Decarbonisation Plan; 3. Begin a rolling programme of electrification and orders for low carbon rolling stock, in order to decarbonise the network; 4. Bring forward digital signalling work to ensure the UK is able to meet the backlog in signalling work; and 5. Include rail in future trade deals and support the sector as a significant export in its own right.
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Rail is vital to the economy and industry in the North of England. Yet, the North’s rail network is facing growing constraints on ageing infrastructure, and there is a need for further investment in East to West connections between major cities. Whilst the North is also set to benefit from a range of major projects, most notably HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and TransPennine Route Upgrade, delays in decision making have created uncertainty about the status of these projects and whether the North will see the full benefits of them. Ahead of May’s local and mayoral elections, Northern Rail Industry Leaders (NRIL), have set out five key recommendations for the North’s future political leaders. These align closely with RIA’s ‘National Asks’ (left). Recommendation 1 Deliver major projects in the North, including HS2, with the Eastern Leg, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Trans Pennine Route Upgrade. Critical areas of the North’s rail infrastructure need upgrading, with many of the projects ‘shovel-ready’. Although work has begun on the TransPennine Route Upgrade and Transport for the North has submitted the Strategic Outline Business Case for Northern Powerhouse Rail, the region is still waiting for the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) to be published later this year. Plans for HS2 Phase 2b fromm Crewe to Leeds will also be confirmed in the IRP. Delays to these major projects, not only increases costs in the long run, but also means businesses cannot prepare for work when it goes ahead. RIA and NRIL members are clear that successful infrastructure delivery depends on certainty and the sight of future work and projects. Government and regional leaders must collaborate to support the industry by publishing a transformative IRP, delivering HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail and the Trans Pennine Route Upgrade in full. This should also support procurement processes that encourage UK businesses and content. ria@riagb.org.uk www.riagb.org.uk
Recommendation 2 To recognise the importance of rail for net zero and accelerate the decarbonisation of the North’s rail network. Rail is already a clean mode of transport for both passengers and freight – contributing just 2% of transport emissions and 0.6% of total UK emissions – and will be vital for the UK to reach net zero by 2050. However, more needs to be done to continue decarbonising the North’s rail network and encourage people and freight to travel by rail. This includes promoting electrification schemes, ordering low carbon rolling stock and, crucially on the passenger side, providing incentives to take the train. As highlighted in NRIL’s Decarbonisation White Paper, in order for the UK to reach net zero by 2050, the industry will require a commitment to decarbonise the UK’s railways and encourage rail travel, to drive modal shift. Recommendation 3 Help boost investment in skills and capability, and promote the range of high skilled, green jobs and career opportunities in the rail industry to students and workers across the North. The rail industry needs the confidence to invest in both skills and capital, such as machinery and plant, without which it will not have the necessary capability to deliver crucial upgrades to our network. As we emerge from the pandemic, during which many businesses have struggled, the North’s rail supply chain needs to be supported by its political leaders to make these investments. To address this, the industry will need support from political leaders and funders to promote the array of opportunities rail can offer, ranging from engineering and design, to data and people management. Recommendation 4 Provide funding for and support Research and Development across the North, ensuring that innovation is at the heart of the rail sector plans. R&D and innovation can be a catalyst to tackle some
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of the key transport challenges. Across the North, innovation can also be a key driver of Transport for the North’s vision for a thriving region that is underpinned by a world class transport system. As NRIL’s Innovation White Paper sets out, Transport for the North can support innovation development by working on the key areas of: • Awareness: Develop a plan for identifying, defining, and prioritising TfN challenge statements; • Funding: Define an innovation funding strategy that specifies sources and means of accessing funding for solution owners; • People: Make innovation a key pillar of TfN’s people strategy; • Procurement: Embed procurement and contracting approaches in TfN that support and drive innovation; and • Supply Chain: Develop a plan to harness the inherent capability of northern SMEs, consultants and universities.
About NRIL NRIL brings together businesses to help develop and support the rail industry in the region, and which includes 150 rail organisations in the North of England. In 2019 it published a ‘Building the North’s New Railways’ Report, which looks at how rail suppliers, Transport for the North (TfN), Government and key rail organisations can work together to deliver the best for the region through rail investment. On Twitter: @NTHRailLeaders On Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/ company/nril
About RIA RIA has 300+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £36 billion in economic growth and £11 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 600,000 people—more than the workforce of Birmingham. It is also a vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK. ria@riagb.org.uk www.riagb.org.uk