On today's Comprehensive Spending review:
Neil Middleton, Railfuture Vice Chair commented:
“It was good to see the headlines for transport investment today – with more money for the TransPennine Route upgrade and East West Rail
“The devil will be in the detail though – so do keep an eye out for our thoughts as the detail flows through in later announcements. Proposals such as Ely Junction weren’t mentioned – we hope that is only because they didn’t tick the “headline” check box.
“The DfT is expected to have reduced day to day spending with the observation ‘declining rail passenger services subsidy as passenger ridership and revenue continue to recover post COVID-19 and efficiencies and savings are made through public ownership’. Sensible steps including empowering competent operational managers and reducing detailed intervention by the Department for Transport – the Railway needs to be able to react quickly to tap into unmet demand for train travel.”
Supplement 12 June - The devil definitely is in the detail: there is no committed funding for the DLR - it is actually "explore options for delivery".