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Research and Reports
A database of documents and reports released by industry bodies. You can download the document by clicking on its title, and can filter reports by author or subject. If you have a report you would like to submit to the Rail Hub, please email [email protected].
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Setting Regional Budgets for Rail Investment
09/07/2021Greengauge 21 SearchResearchItemsA population-based approach taken by the National Infrastructure Commission “heralds a serious rebalancing of rail expenditure away from London and the South East”, says Greengauge 21. The report finds that while the South East and Wales account for 56% of the population, they will receive a £25 billion rail enhancement over the next 25 years. This compares to the North and Midlands, which account for 44% of the population but will receive £86.2bn once planned projects including HS2 Phase 2b and Northern Powerhouse Rail are included. It argues that this approach is fairer than the past practice of allocating transport budgets to where congestion is highest, but that it remains poor at addressing decarbonisation “because of the uneven coverage of electrified railways across the nation”. Greengauge 21 adds that south west England and Wales deserve a 25% budget uplift “to overcome the weaknesses of unimproved networks and reliance on diesel-powered trains”.
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Meeting the Rail Needs of the Midlands and the North - a Review
03/02/2021Greengauge 21 SearchResearchItemsGreengauge21 has drawn extensively on previous research to make two main recommendations in this review of the National Infrastructure Commission’s Rail Needs report. As well as repeating its assertion that an X-shaped network should be developed for HS2 by adding a south western leg to Bristol and south Wales, Greengauge21 is also once again calling for a major rethink of plans for the eastern leg between the West Midlands and Yorkshire. It urges the NIC and government to consider the option of blending the upgrade and electrification of existing lines alongside “some better though out high-speed construction”. Specifically, this would entail extending HS2 to Nottingham city centre and then Newark from where a high-speed line could be built within the East Coast Main Line corridor. Services for Derby, Sheffield and Leeds would use the existing Midland Main Line corridor so that city centres will be more directly served by HS2 services and so that connectivity benefits can be delivered quicker cheaper and more quickly.
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Interurban Bus: Time to raise the profile
01/03/2018Greengauge 21 SearchResearchItemsThis paper describes a transport mode it says is “is little understood and often overlooked” - and one that offers a “marked exception” to the general decline of rural bus services. It describes interurban services as those connecting two or more urban areas, and with intermediate stops, typically to serve villages. Rail-related recommendations include that when considering improvements to rail fares/ticketing, the Department for Transport “should consider how best to incorporate add-ons” for partner services of interurban bus operators. The DfT should also “obligate rail franchisees to provide information on qualifying interurban bus services that connect with rail.”
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National Infrastructure Assessment consultation
01/02/2017Greengauge 21 SearchResearchItemsGreengauge 21 previously noted the opportunity to use high-speed infrastructure to “address challenges in related infrastructure areas” such as energy and water networks. This paper argues among other things for a line between High Speed 1 and HS2 “so that Heathrow has high-speed direct access from Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.” It also says “it is time to recognise Heathrow’s role as a rail hub.” Greengage 21 argues “the best value from high-speed rail is not being achieved because of the lack of a longer term (2050) plan set at a national level.”
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Rural Reconnections: the social benefits of rail rail reopening
01/06/2015Greengauge 21 SearchResearchItemsA case study investigation into the wider impacts of reopening the Plymouth-Tavistock-Okehampton-Exeter railway to provide a Dawlish diversionary route and a second main line for Devon and Cornwall. This report focuses less on the need to ensure the South West is not cut off by severe weather and landslips and more on how a second line could better serve the rural area. The research highlights the potential benefits to the visitor economy and impacts on existing businesses and residents. Key findings are that a new rail line would bring significant benefits to Tavistock, Okehampton and the surrounding area but the benefits will only be realised through proper integration with the existing network, ticketing and timetabling.
