“The government is committed to developing a long-term industrial strategy for rolling stock, which supports British manufacturing and innovation and ultimately improves the offer for passengers. As part of this, my officials have been exploring the best financing structures to support this investment, in partnership with private finance, and this includes considering Eurofima finance.”
‘A better value approach’
Counter-intuitively, Britain’s departure from the EU seems to have made the case for joining the body stronger.
According to the Campaign for Better Transport, U.K. operators previously benefited from preferential financing from the European Investment Bank. Blocked from accessing that money post-Brexit has made rolling stock procurement that bit more expensive.
The idea is popular with many experts in the U.K. “With the imminent transition to Great British Railways, now is a very opportune moment for the U.K. to join Eurofima, whose members largely consist of national rail operators,” said Michael Solomon Williams from the Campaign for Better Transport.
“For years, the U.K. has been suffering from inconsistent rolling stock production, compounded by a loss of EU funding, which if not addressed soon could lead to major job losses in the sector. Accession to Eurofima could help plug the current funding gap, save the government money, and offer a better value approach to delivering new trains on our network.”
Eurofima itself has said the U.K. would be welcome to join. The company’s CEO Christoph Pasternak told Rail Business UK earlier this year: “Everyone we have spoken to in the U.K. thinks this is a good idea and can see a clear benefit in terms of easing the burden on the public purse. But we just need someone in government to pick up the pen.”