THE Office of Rail and Road has announced that railway funding for Control Period 7, which runs from April 2024 to March 2029, will total £43.1 billion. This comprises £38.5 billion for England and Wales and £4.6 billion for Scotland.
The total is not significantly different from the previous five-year period (CP6, April 2019 to March 2024), but there is a change of emphasis for renewals and contingencies as a result of climate change.
Income from fixed and variable track access charges is calculated at £10.6 billion and, taking into account the net effect of the performance regime and recovery of the cost of providing electric traction current from the train operators, the Government grant will be £29.8 billion, which again is a very similar figure to that paid in Control Period 6.
Greater emphasis is given to freight traffic, with gauge clearance and infrastructure improvements to allow fulllength intermodal services to use more routes, which should allow growth of 7.5% in England and Wales and 8.7% in Scotland. Track access charges for freight operators will continue to be capped, and there will be favourable tariffs for charter operators.
Renewals main share