UK: Taking the UK into the Single European Railway Area would ‘embrace a forward-looking, practical partnership that delivers for citizens, businesses and the climate’, according to AllRail.
Following the first UK-EU Summit on May 19 which aimed to ‘reset’ relations between the UK and the trading bloc, the alliance of new entrants to the passenger rail market suggested that closer alignment on rail could bring ‘immediate and tangible benefits’.
AllRail said that ‘far from being rigid or bureaucratic’, EU rail policy had ’become a powerful engine for innovation and customer-focused growth’.
The SERA vision was estabished by Directive 2012/34/EU , with the aim of stimulating competition and improving conditions for investment. It includes the opening up of passenger services to on-rail competition , the competitive tendering of services provided under passenger service obligation contracts and measures to expand the rights of railway undertakings to access infrastructure and facilities. The ultimate aim is that any operator would in principle be able to operate on any EU network.
Noting that ‘parts of the new EU-UK trade deal are still subject to negotiation’, AllRail Secretary General Nick Brooks said ’we are sure that the Single European Railway Area would pave the way for smoother trade and travel. Let rail be at the forefront of this new EU-UK co-operation.’
