18 April 2023
Friday 21 April has marked another milestone in the history of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP), the date being exactly three-and-a-half years since it was last published by the Government on 21 October 2019, with annual updates promised.
The Railway Industry Association (RIA) has been campaigning for the RNEP to be updated and published because – with passenger numbers returning to close to pre-pandemic levels – the UK rail network desperately needs enhancements to increase rail capacity, improve journey times, and generate further economic growth.
RIA’s Chief Executive Darren Caplan said: “It is incredibly frustrating that another milestone has been reached for non-publishing of the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline. The Government promised to update the RNEP annually, and when asked have replied that it would be published ‘soon’.
“Yet exactly three-and-a-half years, or 1277 days, since the last update we still await the pipeline list of enhancements schemes to be circulated. This failure to publish – or make a related announcement of any sort – means real uncertainty for rail businesses, impacting investment, jobs, and skills development, and threatening the ability of SMEs to survive. It also increases the cost of future work.
“So RIA and our members once again call on the Government to publish the RNEP as a matter of urgency. Doing so would not only provide the clarity rail suppliers need on important rail projects and the long-term funding to pay for it, it would also mean the supply sector can get on with helping to unleash economic growth, and give a much-needed boost to UK rail’s future connectivity and capacity.”
Contact Information
Media Team Railway Industry Association
[email protected]
Notes to editors
About RIA: 1.The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the voice of the UK rail supply community. We help to grow a sustainable, high-performing, railway supply industry, and to export UK rail expertise and products. RIA has 350+ companies in membership in a sector that contributes £43 billion in economic growth and £14 billion in tax revenue each year, as well as employing 710,000 people. It is also a vital industry for the UK’s economic recovery, supporting green investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK; for every £1 spent in rail, £2.50 is generated in the wider economy. RIA’s membership is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). www.riagb.org.uk
2. RIA’s own RNEP can be found here.
3. Find out more about RIA’s RNEP campaign here.