A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future
Rail Freight Group (RFG) was pleased to respond to the Government’s consultation ‘A Railway Fit for Britain’s Future’. RFG recognises the government’s ambitions for a reformed railway alongside the nationalisation of the majority of the passenger railway.
These reforms, done correctly, can offer opportunities for rail freight growth and investment, supporting wider government missions and meeting the needs of our customers. However, this consultation represents significant changes to the legal, regulatory and procedural frameworks of our industry, and as such also represent a significant risk to the private sector rail freight industry. It is essential that the right safeguards and frameworks are in place to ensure that the positive potential for rail freight growth is delivered in practice.
In our response we have set out our comments in each section, as well as answering the consultation questions. We are grateful to colleagues at Department for Transport, GBRTT and Network Rail for the many discussions and workshops, development of position papers and for the additional clarification they have provided over the consultation period, which has helped to inform our response.