Response to the RUS Consultation

Network Rail published its draft London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for consultation in December 2010. The RUS outlines Network Rail’s view of the capacity challenges the railway will face over the coming 20 years, and the strengths of the various options that could be developed to meet predicted demand.

We submitted our response in March 2011, when the consultation period closed. The final RUS is expected in the summer 2011.

 The main issues we raised in our response were:

• The importance of ensuring good rail services for outer London.
• The need to provide adequate provision for freight services and where possible avoiding the need to route freight services through central London.
• The importance in investing in smaller, local schemes which have the potential to boost the capacity and resilience of particular lines and services.
• The need to ensure that any plans for high speed rail are carefully considered and enhance London’s existing transport infrastructure.

You can download a copy of our response below.