LCC: Rail North

'Rail North' is the name of an interim, informal organisation that was established with the aim of promoting the devolution of rail franchising from Whitehall to the North of England. It is a grouping of all 30 local transport authorities across the North of England.

Rail North’s vision is to create a world-class railway for the whole of the North of England. Supporting the economic aspirations of the North of England was the prime objective of Rail North’s devolution proposal, with the aim of creating a railway recognised by passengers and businesses as serving their needs, and being both more effective and efficient. Rail North, therefore, has three overarching objectives for rail services in the North of England:

• to support economic growth by delivering more rail capacity and better rail connectivity 
• to improve the quality of the railways in the North, with a better offer for passengers to encourage more use 
• to deliver a more efficient railway and to secure greater value for money for the support from the public purse 

Although its slow going on the Rail North project at present it’s the only game in town that offers a unified approach to rail services across the North of the country. Manchester and West Yorkshire combined authorities dominate the decision making process, between them they carry 50% of the weighted voting system based on passenger numbers.

We are third biggest if you take into account Blackpool and Blackburn, if you also include Cumbria who are part of our consortium North West North, this gives us 12.5%. Bigger than any other consortium, yet we still have allot to do as the city regions have been working together for years, keeping others out of the loop. In order to make progress we have the following decisions to take:

• Two bodies are being set up Rail North Ltd (RNL) and the Association of Rail North Partner Authorities. 
• That the County Council should become a member of both bodies
• That the County Council agrees to meet its share of the running costs of the Association of Rail North Partners which is estimated to be £1,980 per annum
• That the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport is appointed to the Leaders' Committee of the Association
• That a substitute member is appointed to the Leaders' Committee
• That subject to the approval of the final terms of the RNL Members Agreement by the County Solicitor and Secretary, the County Council enters into the RNL Members Agreement.