Setting Regional Budgets for Rail Investment
Greengauge 21
A population-based approach taken by the National Infrastructure Commission “heralds a serious rebalancing of rail expenditure away from London and the South East”, says Greengauge 21.
The report finds that while the South East and Wales account for 56% of the population, they will receive a £25 billion rail enhancement over the next 25 years.
This compares to the North and Midlands, which account for 44% of the population but will receive £86.2bn once planned projects including HS2 Phase 2b and Northern Powerhouse Rail are included.
It argues that this approach is fairer than the past practice of allocating transport budgets to where congestion is highest, but that it remains poor at addressing decarbonisation “because of the uneven coverage of electrified railways across the nation”.
Greengauge 21 adds that south west England and Wales deserve a 25% budget uplift “to overcome the weaknesses of unimproved networks and reliance on diesel-powered trains”.
