New open access operator signs track contract
A new type of open access operator has signed a Track Access Contract with Network Rail. Go-op is a co-operative venture which is planning to run services through Somerset and Wiltshire between Taunton and Swindon, serving towns like Frome and Melksham en route.
(Last updated 14.09) Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a four-year funding settlement for Transport for London in her Spending Review. There will also be more investment in the Transpennine Route Upgrade, the Midlands Rail Hub, East West Rail and Welsh railways.
The RMT is calling for all outstanding open access applications to be rejected, and for the existing operators to be nationalised. The call comes in response to new trading figures from FirstGroup, which owns Hull Trains and Lumo and is also due to launch open access services on two new routes over the next couple of years.
Eurostar is planning three new routes, two of them from London. The British services will connect the UK capital with Frankfurt and Geneva, while the third will link Amsterdam and Brussels with Geneva. Their introduction depends on a new fleet of up to 50 trains by the early 2030s, which will need an investment of around two billion Euros.
A thinktank says its calculations show that the north of England received 140 billion pounds less for transport projects than London between 2009-10 and 2022-23, which would have been enough to build seven Elizabeth Lines. The calculations have been published today in the wake of last week’s Treasury announcement of 15.6 billion pounds for public transport projects in city regions outside London over the next five years.
FirstGroup has applied for an open access licence to run trains between London and Hereford. First already possesses open access licences for new services from London to Stirling and Carmarthen, but more recent applications lodged since last July’s election, including some from First, are still outstanding.
The chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed that 15.6 billion is to be invested in public transport for urban areas outside London over the next five years. She has also indicated that more rail investment is set to be announced next week.
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