Network Rail gains foothold in US market
Network Rail Consulting (NRC), the international consultancy arm of Network Rail, has gained a foothold
in the North American rail market after successfully bidding to join Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (NEC) Partner Forum. Membership of the forum will enable NRC to share best practice internationally and collaborate on areas of interest including high speed rail development, railway operations and system integration.
Considered the backbone of the region, the NEC runs from Boston to Washington, D.C. via New York City, Philadelphia and a number of other major cities, the NEC is the busiest passenger rail corridor in America, connecting eight states, serving 750,000 passengers and more than 2,000 commuter, intercity, and freight trains each day. Simon Kirby, chairman of Network Rail Consulting, said: ‘We believe we have much to offer other railways around the world and we are eager to support Amtrak on this key initiative. We look forward to helping further develop rail in the United States, sharing the best of British engineering and ingenuity.
campaign, Frances O’Grady said: ‘Giving train companies the green light to slash staffing on trains and stations will increase the risk of passengers being verbally and physically abused and will lead to a worse service for everyone. No-one deserves to travel in fear or to be left without vital assistance, and these plans make a mockery of the government’s commitment to make the railways more accessible to disabled and elderly passengers.’ A copy of the research can be viewed at
http://survation.com/wp- content/uploads/2013/04/Action-for-Rail-Full-Report.pdf
ORR shines a light on the finances and growth of Britain’s railways
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has published more detail than ever before on the costs, funding and growth of Britain’s railways. ‘GB rail financial information 2011-2012’ provides a detailed analysis of latest financial data from train operators, Network Rail and governments, and highlights: • the cost of Britain’s railways in 2011-12 was £11.61 billion – up 2.9 per cent from £11.28 billion in the previous year. ORR’s analysis also examines the effects of inflation, and on this basis costs decreased by 2.1 per cent.
• income from passenger fares is covering a higher proportion of the cost of Britain’s railways relative to taxpayers. Fares contributed 57.6 per cent of the industry’s total income in 2011-12, up from 55.8 per cent in the previous year. Governments’ funding contributed 32.1 per cent in 2011-12, down 1.8 per cent over the past year.
One in four disabled passengers targeted for abuse says TUC
One in four disabled rail passengers has suffered a hate crime or abuse, according to new research published by the TUC’s Action for Rail campaign.
The poll – of 1,031 disabled people – revealed that more than a quarter (27 per cent) of disabled rail users have been targeted while at stations or on trains, and more than two-fifths of wheelchair users (43 per cent) and travellers with visual impairments (41 per cent) reported being abused. Action for Rail says the results come at the same time as Toc’s are preparing a major programme of cuts that could see the loss of 7,000 train guards and 7,000 station staff over the next six years, with the result that more than seven in ten (73 per cent) of the UK’s stations could become unstaffed by the end of the decade, and that all trains would lose their guards. The poll showed that disabled rail users rank safety and security as the most important service that railway staff provide, and that for them, the plans are deeply unpopular. Four-fifths (81 per cent) say reducing staff numbers will make train travel more difficult, with one in three (34 per cent) warning the cuts will deter them from making journeys, and in some cases make rail travel impossible.
TUC general secretary and chair of the Action for Rail Page 14 June 2013
• there are significant regional variations in governments’ funding for the railways. Public subsidy in 2011-12 was £2.27 per passenger journey in England, £7.67 in Scotland, and £9.15 in Wales.
ORR chief executive, Richard Price, said: ‘Governments have recently committed billions of pounds to improving Britain’s railways in the coming years because of the benefits it will bring to our economy and society. Taxpayers and rail customers have every right to know exactly where their money goes and what it delivers.
‘This data is valuable as we scrutinise the proposed £37.5 billion plan for the railways between 2014-19 to ensure it is affordable, that every penny is made to count and that all those involved in delivering the plan work together to achieve high levels of safety, performance and value for Britain.’ Anthony Smith, chief executive of Passenger Focus, said: ‘For too long passengers have been the passive recipients of major decisions made on their behalf behind closed doors. We say the voice of the main user and main founder of the railways should be radically boosted, in a process that needs to be opened up to scrutiny. We are going to work with government to make this a reality - the time has come for passenger power.’ Stephen Joseph, chief executive of Campaign for Better
Transport said the growth of railways needs to benefit train users as well as the Treasury. ‘Passengers need a much stronger voice in how the railways are run if the network is to continue to thrive.’
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