Rail industry responds to Government Technical Notices on ‘No Deal’
12 October 2018
Today the Government published Technical Notices on the impact of ‘No Deal’ on the rail industry.
David Clarke, Technical Director at the Railway Industry Association (RIA) said:
“RIA welcome the publication of these Technical Notices today and the detail they provide, which will help the rail supply chain prepare in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario.
“It is positive the Notices state the UK will only diverge from Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSIs) where there are clear benefits for doing so and will fully engage with the industry to assess the impact of any changes. It is vital that the Government commit to full alignment with the TSIs unless there are isolated cases for divergence that do not impact the specifications of the wider rail network. Should there be a ‘no deal’ scenario, it will also be crucial for the Government to negotiate for the mutual recognition between UK and EU standards so that UK rail supply chain products can continue to be exported to EU countries for use without modification, thereby avoiding unnecessary cost increases and retaining economies of scale and competitiveness.
“As mentioned in our oral evidence to the House of Lords EU Committee this week, RIA firmly believes it is essential the UK maintains a relationship with the European Union Railways Agency to ensure our rail industry continues to influence European standards going forward. Whilst we are concerned with the decision for the UK to have no formal relationship with the Agency, we welcome the fact the Technical Notices encourage the rail industry to participate with the Agency at a technical and working level. The industry must now come together to assess how we proceed in developing this relationship.
“We continue to urge the Government to work with the industry as we prepare to leave the European Union. We must maintain influence over standards, have access to a skilled workforce and maintain smooth cross border trade, as well as ensuring rail is involved in future trade agreements being formed with EU and non-EU states. We will continue to work with the Government, our Members and the wider industry on these issues.”
Notes to Editors
- The two Technical Notices can be found here:
About RIA: The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the trade association for UK-based suppliers to the UK and world-wide railways. It has some 200 companies in membership, in a growing industry with the number of rail journeys expected to double over the next 25 years and freight set to grow significantly too. 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). RIA works to promote the importance of the rail system to UK plc, to help export UK expertise around the globe and to share best practice and innovation across the industry.