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ClimateNE & Climate Change Schools Project support the move to a low-carbon, resilient economy and help businesses avoid risk and realise commercial opportunities. Posts by Jen Atkinson, Krista McKinzey and Harriet Thew » The ã10,000,000,000 investment in the railways announced by Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly yesterday should prompt some concern among businesses in the North East.
That's because she is signalling that passengers will have to provide a hefty slice of that cash - and recent history suggests it is businesses that will be hardest hit.
The type of tickets needed by business travellers can be seen as an easy target because most people who use them simply stick them down on an expenses claim. But these rising costs are just one more thing which makes running a business 300 miles from London that little bit harder.
The White Paper acknowledges that tickets favoured by business travellers represent 10% of journeys, but 25% of railway revenue - and have increased in cost by up to 46% in real terms in a decade. Then it gives the green light for them to go higher still.
It's not made easier to stomach by the fact it's such a struggle to find specific schemes that will benefit the North East. And it seems Government press officers have found that equally difficult, despite putting out a press release that says the region is "at the heart" of the plan.
In fact, every other English region also appears to be "at the heart" of this plan, as they were each the subject of a very similar press release (which raises questions about civil servants' grasp of anatomy).
But while some of those releases trumpet major station developments at Birmingham and Reading, or the new Thameslink scheme, the North East has no similar headline investment to shout about.
There are positive points in the White Paper. The new trains and extra capacity in the East Coast Main Line will be welcome, as will longer trains on TransPennine services.
But the rejection of a high speed north-south line, or any commitment to re-opening disused lines which could free up space for commuter routes (ever tried getting a train from Middlesbrough to Newcastle recently?), is disappointing.
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