Good rail services vital to rebalancing the economy
- 21st July 2010

As the public sector approach to service delivery comes into sharper focus, improved rail links between cities and towns will form an important part of the new Government's plans to rebalance the economy - by linking people to jobs. This is according to a new report from the Centre for Cities.

The report 'On Track: Why Rail matters' sets out the vital role that the railways will play in supporting jobs and boosting local economies in the coming years. It says that if people living in cities are to access job opportunities wherever they emerge, in a tough economic climate, targeted high-return transport investments will need to play a key role.

The research looks at five planned improvements to the railway network and sets out the benefits they will bring to the economy of individual towns and cities, including cutting journey times and allowing passengers to use the time saved more productively. It also quantifies the tens of thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of people that could benefit from general investment in the rail network.

The report highlights that it's not just rail passengers that benefit from improvements to the UK rail network. The wider economic benefits of rail investment are:

- Businesses can become more productive by accessing a larger pool of labour and choice of suppliers and through increased exposure to competition.

- Cities and towns become better connected to each other and their wider outlying economies, helping them to play to their strengths while drawing upon complementary industries in surrounding cities.

- Local residents can tap into higher wages and new employment opportunities that open up due to the business communities becoming more connected.

The employees that could benefit the most across the cities and towns studied were middle-skilled employees such as tradesmen, clerical workers, sales people and drivers.

At a time when public finances are constrained and with pressure on transport budgets, the Government and transport decision makers will need to focus on targeted high-return investments that support the growth of the private sector economy and open up job opportunities.

Claire Maugham, Deputy Chief Executive at the Centre for Cities said:

"We're in a difficult jobs climate - and it's unlikely that future job opportunities will be found on the doorstep. City residents are increasingly commuting to other towns and cities to work. And improvements to the rail network should be focused on helping them do so.

"Rail transport budgets will clearly be under pressure in the years to come. Targeted high return investments should be seen as part of the wider solution to rebalancing the economy."

Edward Welsh, Director of Corporate Affairs at the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), which has supported the report, said:

"As we enter into a period of austerity, we need to focus limited funding on improvements which will bring the biggest benefits to passengers, taxpayers and the wider economy.

"Investment in the railways doesn't just improve services for passengers, it brings significant benefits for the wider economy, connecting people to jobs and making businesses more productive by giving them wider access to markets. The railways will have a vital role to play in driving economic growth in the coming years as the economy becomes more reliant on the private sector."

James Adeshiyan, General Manager at First Hull Trains, said:

"Recent announcements about huge investment in Hull [Building Schools for the Future] will help to keep the Hull £ in Hull as well as attracting interest from elsewhere. We are ready to bring people to the city as well as carrying customers to destinations between Hull and London. We are understandably keen to play our part.

"The 'Centre for Cities' report makes interesting reading and reinforces the importance of good rail services to support local, regional and national economies. We currently operate 90 services each week between Hull and London and we carry 720,000 people every year. With 50 per cent more capacity on our trains, which are currently being refreshed to a standard that will make them look and feel like new vehicles, we are well prepared for any future increases in passenger numbers."