UK: The Rail Freight Group has called on parliament to address its concerns that current proposals for rail reform could give Great British Railways or the government ‘sweeping powers to deprioritise freight’. RFG has warned that the reforms could ’increase costs to a level which make rail freight uneconomic versus HGV costs, deprive the rail industry of a regulator which acts as an independent mind with a record for growth, and lead to uncertainty and duplication’.
On December 9 the trade association said the government’s Railways Bill contains some ‘important and welcome provisions’ for freight, highlighting the duty for government to promote rail freight, putting the Rail Freight Growth Target of at least 75% growth by 2050 in law, discounts to encourage use of spare capacity and a requirement to promote new freight services. It also welcomed freight access charges continuing to be calculated on the cost from wear and tear, and continuing to incentivise operator and GBR performance via penalties, compensation and bonuses.
However, RFG said the bill ‘also raises concerns, particularly around the future plans for allocating track capacity’. Its key concerns include:
- changes to the powers of the rail regulator, ‘which has grown the railway through incentivising performance, granting new routes, fostering competition and delivering rail growth’;
- allowing Great British Railways — rather than the regulator — to set rules on track access and charging, determine initial appeals and ‘mark its own work’, which RFG fears could to potentially favour its own nationalised operations over the other public and private sector operators;
- confusion over which of GBR or government will be the guiding mind, with sweeping powers for the Secretary of State to direct, or give guidance to, GBR;
- giving GBR discretion to increase current wear and tear costs for freight or add penalties with no detail as to how this will work and no regulator to appeal to;
- penalties and compensation would no longer be paid by GBR to operators for any disruption which GBR deems to be outside of its control. RFG notes that compensation is currently paid for regular occurrences such as weather and trespass incidents;
- powers for government to ‘rip up existing freight contracts for a period of 15 years’;
- powers for government to intervene over the management and operation of infrastructure and facilities which are not owned by the government or GBR.
‘The success of Great British Railways will depend not on the colour of its logo but on how it supports customers, and enables more goods to move by rail’, said RFG Director General Maggie Simpson. ‘By making some small changes to the Railways Bill, parliamentarians can help us ensure that the future of our railways works effectively for all users.’
