Priorities for investment in the railways

Download or read book Priorities for investment in the railways written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Transport Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-02-15 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The railways in Britain are currently experiencing historically high levels of investment. Network Rail, the monopoly owner and operator of Britain's fixed rail infrastructure, is investing about £35 billion in the railway network between 2009 and 2014. In this inquiry the Transport Committee assess the value of further investment to enhance Britain's railway network and - within the context of likely public spending reductions following the recession - to identify essential rail investment priorities for the future. Investment in rail enhancements can positively benefit the economy through reducing journey times, providing access to employment, contributing to the regeneration of local areas and, in the short-term, providing much-needed construction jobs. Failure to invest now to enhance the network, and to alleviate capacity constraints, will only damage the prosperity of the railways in the long term. The Committee believes the Government should continue to focus on enhancing the network, promoting integration of transport modes and reacting positively to proposals to develop new rail lines, or reopening old ones, serving communities with little or no access to the rail network. The report sets out which needs and schemes the Committee thinks should be considered high priorities in the medium to long-term.