THE implications of Brexit for the railway industry could include the abandonment, reduction or at least a delay to HS2, it is feared.
Following the vote in favour of the UK leaving the European Union, the Office of Budget Responsibility will now be re-assessing national infrastructure projects, although its conclusions are not expected to be published before the autumn.
The Chancellor George Osborne said today: "Given the delay in triggering article 50 and the prime minister’s decision to hand over to a successor, it is sensible that decisions on what that action should consist of should wait for the OBR to assess the economy in the autumn, and for the new prime minister to be in place.”
Lord Tony Berkeley, who chairs the Rail Freight Group and as an industry commentator has frequently criticised the effects of successive EU Railway Packages, said: "The priority for the government at this time will not be big sexy projects such as HS2."
His concerns have been echoed by Richard Threlfall, head of infrastructure at the accountant KPMG, who said: “I can’t imagine that any part of Whitehall is going to be thinking or doing anything... except trying to work out where we go from here.
“That’s certainly going to be true in the Treasury. Getting attention on important strategic infrastructure decisions, I fear, has just got significantly harder.”
There has been some comfort in Derby, however, where the Canadian company Bombardier employs more than 1,000 people building rolling stock. The works at Litchurch Lane are currently busy constructing trains for London Overground, GWR and Crossrail, but Bombardier also has a presence in several other EU countries, including the headquarters for its Transportation division in Berlin.
Bombardier warned that although the outlook was not yet clear, it was 'too early to speculate on potential outcomes/impacts of the UK now having voted to leave the European Union'.
A company statement continued: "As always, we are committed to our businesses, all our employees and our customers in the UK and we will continue to work with the Government and other industry stakeholders, to create the necessary business environment to ensure our future success.
"Bombardier has a strong and established presence within the UK and EU and a successful track record of supplying our products and services to customers throughout the UK and the EU.
"We have a number of ongoing major UK projects, plus there are other upcoming opportunities and we are committed to meeting the future needs of the UK market."