Rail Franchise longer terms to be welcome with investment
Geoff as a keen Rail Supporter and member of Railfuture has welcomed the announcement of a consultation paper by the Government – examining the possibility of giving Rail Franchises in the future a much longer term even up to 15 years which would allow more stability in a particular area – but critically the incentive for a Private Company to really invest in serious developments for service users, better rolling stock, better bargaining power to purchase new trains and put improvements in at stations across the piece.
We are all painfully aware that Central funding for the Rail network is going to be very hard to come by over the next 5 years or so – and if suitable investment can be found in the private sector this could even see rail re-openings on a scale in the UK comparable with the rate of closures in the 60′s. Experience in various parts of the UK including the South West show – that if you put in services which people can and want to use – they will be used at an even greater volume than first thought benefiting everyone with an interest in green sustainable rail travel.
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