Heritage and tourist lines now accepted as part of the larger railway scene

摘要

On November 22,I attended, along with HRA deputy chairman Mark Smith, the Stakeholder Summit of the Rail Red Tape Challenge, held at the Department for Transport and chaired by Theresa Villiers MP, the Minister of State for Transport. This is all part of the Government's public consultation on reducing the'red tape'that imposes unnecessary burdens and costs on the broader railway industry. As someone who has to draft several responses during the course of the year on consultation papers on legal and justice administration - in exercises which I often feel are paying mere lip service to the concept of consultation -I was very encouraged by the serious intent of the Minister and her Department to make a real difference. It is now up to the industry, including HRA members, to highlight the regulations that cause problems. These issues will be largely focused on those regulations implemented by the Department, but we have been told that we may raise other concerns, although the Department's ability to react may depend on constraints insisted on by other ministries or by Europe.