Writen evidence from the North West Rail
Campaign (NWRC) (TE 49)
1. INTRODUCTION
The North West Rail Campaign (NWRC) was established
in 2003 to lobby for a greater level of investment in the infrastructure
of the North West's railways.
The priorities of the Campaign are:
- Manchester Hub.
- Rolling Stock.
- Electrification.
- Stations.
There is also support for the development of a High
Speed Rail network in Britain.
2. TRANSPORT
AND THE
ECONOMY
2.1 Have the UK's economic conditions materially
changed since the Eddington Transport Study and, if so, does this
affect the relationship between transport spending and UK economic
growth?
It is apparent that the UK's economic conditions
have changed significantly since the publication of the Eddington
study and that the economy has been in recession, despite the
level of transport spending over recent years. However transport
had been under-funded for decades and has still not "caught
up" to put the UK on the same footing as some of our European
neighbours.
What is clear though, is that spending on transport
infrastructure can help to stimulate and sustain economic growth,
particularly through some of the wider economic benefits that
have only recently been included in the appraisal process.
2.2 What type of transport spending should
be prioritised, in the context of an overall spending reduction,
in order best to support regional and national economic growth?
We believe that the main priorities for investment
should be concentrated on rail as there is a recognised link between
rail investment and economic growth through improving access to
employment and encouraging agglomeration of businesses. These
priorities are:
- To continue the ongoing drive for improved maintenance
procedures and more efficient working practices to drive down
operational costs. This will require an ongoing commitment from
the Government to allocate funding to Network Rail in the current
Control Period format to allow adequate planning and to benefit
from economies of scale for procurement.
- To remove bottlenecks, such as the Northern Hub,
from the network to allow for optimum use to be made of the infrastructure
we already have.
- To ensure efficient and adequate deployment and
acquisition of rolling stock.
2.3 How should the balance between revenue
and capital expenditure be altered?
It is clear that there will be a severe restriction
on capital expenditure in coming years however this is likely
to be even more so for revenue expenditure as budgets continue
to be tight. Few authorities will want to commit to new ongoing
expenditure so it seems likely that there will be an increase
in contracts to private sector companies to build and manage infrastructure
projects.
2.4 Are the current methods for assessing
proposed transport schemes satisfactory?
The current methods for assessing transport schemes
appear to be very long-winded and bureaucratic, and this is even
truer for the railways due to additional regulations. There needs
to be a smoother process for planning, assessing and delivering
transport projects.
2.5 How will schemes be planned in the absence
of regional bodies and following the revocation and abolition
of regional spatial strategies?
We would like to see a national strategy for major
transport planning with a clear steer for delivery of projects
at a sub-regional level. The Crossrail Bill was a good example
of ensuring a major railway project kept moving forward, and allowed
for new sources of funding to be identified however this is not
suitable or possible for all projects.
The introduction of Local Enterprise Partnership
provides a useful vehicle for advising and planning on transport
issues but it is likely to involve a greater role for the Department
for Transport which may prove to be difficult in the current climate
of no additional staff recruitment.
September 2010
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