‘Disappointment’ after Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs leaves out rail

CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has set out his ‘Plan for Jobs’ to MPs, but made no mention of rail projects in his speech. The Railway Industry Association has responded with disappointment, saying that the rail sector is an effective creator of jobs. RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: ‘Many in the railway industry will be disappointed that chancellor Rishi Sunak didn’t mention anything about new rail infrastructure in his speech. The Government has said it is seeking to “build build build” and has recently spoken of an “infrastructure revolution”, calling publicly for shovel-ready projects to help reboot a green economy post-Coronavirus. Yet, we are concerned that no accelerated rail infrastructure projects were mentioned today, such as those in the Government’s own list of 58 rail enhancement schemes directly within its power to speed up. The Chancellor specifically unveiled a “Plan for Jobs” – yet in the current circumstances few sectors can generate jobs and GVA as quickly as rail.’

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