6 Conclusion
83. As the Secretary of State said, it is no good
carting fresh air around the country. But that is not an argument
for closing rural lines. We want high quality, well-used regional
railways. It is important not to lose sight of why we need these
railways. The strategy should not be simply a matter of reducing
the subsidy, although that will be a welcome outcome of success.
In many rural areas a rail service, properly connected with other
public transport modes, will offer a quicker transport service
than driving along rural roads. The Government rightly has targets
for improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions:
transferring traffic from road to rail will help achieve these.
The Government wants to reduce congestion; while many rural railways
will begin in areas where congestion is not a problem, the journeys
they feed into may well end up in a congested town or city, or,
if made by car, mean adding to the congestion on the strategic
road network. The Government wants to promote social inclusion;
a thriving regional network can assist in this. Britain currently
has a net deficit of tourism; a healthy and effective rail system
can attract visitors to areas they might otherwise have missed.
84. The SRA's community rail lines will have CRPs
to support them; many of the lines which feed into major cities
will be nurtured by the Passenger Transport Executives; franchises
will always have an interest in the inter-city links. There may
be a danger that the Government's community rail policy creates
Cinderella services, which although important for local people,
lack any of these bodies within government or the industry prepared
to act as their advocate. If the Community Rail Strategy proves
a success, we expect the government to look again at the way railways
are categorised and supported to ensure that this does not happen.
85. Reducing costs on the rail network is important,
and is as important on rural lines as elsewhere. It must be a
key part of strategy. But we believe the Government should also
have an aspiration for growth on the rural railway; if services
and infrastructure were enhanced rural railways could play a far
greater part in meeting people's need to travel in a sustainable
way. We consider that any success achieved by CRPs must be rewarded
with the promise of enhancements to infrastructure and services
where necessary. Otherwise the Government will miss the opportunities
that a successful rural network will offer.
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