Response to the Initial Industry Plan

The government is expected to announce its decision on funding for rail infrastructure in the period 2014 to 2019 (known as control period 5) in July 2012.

A number of documents have been published which may influence the government’s thinking in advance of its announcement, including Network Rail’s London & South East RUS (Route Utilisation Strategy), the McNulty Review and the Initial Industry Plan (IIP). You can read our response to the RUS consultation here.

The IIP, published in September 2011, was jointly produced by RFOA (the Rail Freight Operator’s Association), the Railway Industry Association, ATOC (the Association of Train Operating Companies) and Network Rail. It represents the industry’s recommendations to government.

Our response to the IIP was submitted to the Office for Rail Regulation in November 2011. In it we made the following points:

• London and the South East’s economies are growing at a faster rate than the rest of the country and are spearheading the recovery for the nation as a whole.
• London and the South East generate 43 per cent of the country’s tax revenues and are the only regions which make a net contribution to the Treasury.
• The wider economic benefits of investment in London have been shown to be four times higher in London than any other part of the country.
• The future success of London’s economy depends on the ability of its rail network to enable many thousands of passengers to access employment in central London.
• Capacity is already limited on many routes in London and the South East and overcrowding is predicted to become severe on a variety of services over the next decade.
• London Councils welcomes the proposed funding for schemes outlined in the IIP but does not believe these alone will go far enough to meet the future capacity needs of London.
• We support the more extensive HLOS2 recommendations made in August 2011 by Transport for London (TfL). 
• London Councils also supports the proposed funding for schemes designed to improve the accessibility of stations, safety of level crossings, and the quality of passenger journeys.

 You can download our response below.