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The Transport Committee broadly welcomes the European Commission's 4th Railway Package but believes it focuses too much on liberalising the railway in domestic markets at the expense of important measures to improve cross-border freight and passenger services. The Committee recommends the UK Government should actively negotiate to ensure: joint working between Network Rail and train operators is not prohibited or unduly restricted; metro and light rail systems are not affected by the proposals to separate infrastructure and service operators; the UK's arrangements for letting train franchises are not challenged. In addition, MPs are concerned about: governance arrangements for Eurotunnel; the maximum annual threshold proposed for rail franchises, which could prevent UK companies bidding for work in other EU countries; and the possibility that the EU may become responsible for specifying the content of public transport plans: these should remain the responsibility of national or local governments.
The opening of the pioneering Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of the railways' vital role in changing the face of Britain. Fire and Steam celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious Victorian pioneers who developed this revolutionary transport system and the navvies who cut through the land to enable a country-wide network to emerge. From the early days of steam to electrification, via the railways' magnificent contribution in two world wars, the chequered history of British Rail, and the buoyant future of the train, Fire and Steam examines the social and economical importance of the railway and how it helped to form the Britain of today.