How many ‘key priorities’ can one industry have at a time?
Network Rail chief executive David Higgins added another one this week, telling MPs on the Transport Select Committee that the Northern Hub proposals for upgraded infrastructure in the North West and Yorkshire were “absolutely essential”.
Hopefully it is a sign of self-confidence rather than dangerous over-reach, considering the myriad other ‘priorities’ the industry has on the boil – Crossrail, HS2, Thameslink, electrification, the Network Rail restructure into devolved business units, the Intercity Express Programme, Birmingham Gateway, London Overground, the Reading upgrade, Higgins’ own ‘open, transparent, accountable, responsive’ strategic agenda, and so on.
When most other public services are narrowing their ambitions in response to funding cuts and the fragile
economy, the rail industry seems hyperactive by comparison.
