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Thameslink 319s could be off to Reading as part of a rolling stock


Safety Management & Assurance


cascade, if electrification goes ahead


be pruned first, despite Hammond’s first-day promise of ending the ‘war on the motorist’. Domestic aviation could be taxed harder. Changes to free bus


Railway Operations


travel for people over 60 could save some money; it’s one of the department’s biggest outlays. The grant to prop up bus services is another target, with £500m at stake. As is the money paid to local authorities to maintain and improve highways. But make no mistake, rail is in for some substantial cutbacks.


Systems & Systems Engineering Business Consulting


What will be the impact? ‘A simple salami slicing of all budgets by 25 per cent would lead to speed restrictions, overcrowding and increases of at least a third in many fares on the railway network, and few local train services outside the main cities.’ That’s the gloomy conclusion of the Campaign for Better Transport in its thorough report called Smarter Cuts. It urges cheaper train travel, reducing the relative price of public versus private transport. It says that should come from taxing less green modes of travel more heavily. Transport is a key driver of the economy, and an important


Software Solutions Rail. Right through


Interfleet provides value-adding consultancy across the entire railway system, including business management services


To discuss your requirements contact


Michael Grace, Business Development Manager, on +44 (0)1332 223464 or visit www.interfleet.co.uk


factor influencing the rate of inflation. Congested or poorly maintained roads will impede economic recovery. Transport provision is a key factor in improving social justice. In particular it dictates whether poorer and more rural households can access public services or opportunities for education and employment. In many areas it is a determining factor of overall quality of life. Transport is responsible for 24 per cent of all domestic CO2


emissions, of which all but two per cent is from road transport, according to DfT statistics. Spending decisions will affect whether the government meets its own targets for reducing emissions set out in the Climate Change Act. Public transport is a low-carbon way to travel, but higher fares would discourage people from using it. According to the Campaign for Better Transport, fares are 20 per cent above the European average, and the cost of motoring has fallen by 14 per cent in real terms since 1997. For all these reasons, any government would be keen to provide


the best, most efficient and greenest public transport system the country can afford. On 20 October we’ll be told what that will be.


Business Management PAGE 24 OCTOBER 2010


PAUL CLIFTON IS THE TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT FOR BBC SOUTH: paul.clifton@railpro.co.uk


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