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SUMMARY:Railway Fares and Financing Debate  - Charles Robarts\, Network Ra
 il\, Linda McCord\, Passenger Focus\, Andrew Allen\, Campaign for Better T
 ransport\, Julian Huppert\, MP for Cambridge\, Liberal Democrat Party\, Da
 niel Zeichner\, Labour Party\, Chamali Fernando\, Conservative Party\, Rup
 ert Read\, Green Pa
DTSTART:20150116T193000Z
DTEND:20150116T213000Z
UID:TALK57192@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sebastian Gibson
DESCRIPTION:\nRail-related bodies:\n\nCharles Robarts\, Director of Regula
 tion and Planning\, Network Rail \nLinda McCord\, Passenger Manager\, Pass
 enger Focus \nAndrew Allen\, Policy Analyst\, Campaign for Better Transpor
 t \n\nProspective Parliamentary Candidates for Cambridge: \n\nJulian Huppe
 rt\, MP for Cambridge\, Liberal Democrat Party\nDaniel Zeichner\, Labour P
 arty\nChamali Fernando\, Conservative Party\nRupert Read\, Green Party\n\n
 Panel discussion to feature Labour\, Lib Dem\, Green and Conservative \nPr
 ospective Parliamentary Candidates for Cambridge and representatives \nof 
 Network Rail\, Passenger Focus and the Campaign for Better Transport.\n\n-
  Each speaker give an initial talk of around 5 minutes\, then there will \
 nbe over an hour for questions.\n\n- The event aims to raise awareness of 
 rail financing mechanisms and \nspecific party policies and make the debat
 e more informed.\n--\n\nEvery January the moaning about rail fare rises ar
 rives on cue. The \nfrustration is normally directed at politicians. But h
 ow many people \nactually know what the railway spends the money on? Or ho
 w much of the \ncosts are covered by subsidy? Or what "premium payments"\,
  "revenue \nshare" or the "Regulatory Asset Base" actually are? All too of
 ten\, \npeople make claims or proposals which are simply not feasible. Whi
 le the \nlevel of public interest in the railway is valuable\, we could de
 velop \nbetter solutions by having a more informed debate.\n\nIs the indus
 try functioning as well as it could? Infrastructure manager \nNetwork Rail
  is often criticised within the industry for being \nbureaucratic and wast
 eful. Are the structures fit for purpose? Rail \n"re-nationalisation" is a
  very popular policy - people seem to think \nthat something is wrong with
  the railways. Would lower fares require \nincreased subsidy or would the 
 cost largely be paid for by additional \npassengers? Train companies are s
 elling increasing numbers of booked \ntrain only Advance tickets as walk-u
 p fares increase. This is attractive \nas the cheap fares encourage new tr
 avel and smooth peaks and the train \ncompanies do not have to share reven
 ue (except the sale commission) - \nbut can this model provide the everyda
 y mobility the country needs? \nThese are some of the questions the indust
 ry speakers will tackle.\n\nWhat solutions can politicians offer? Governme
 nts regularly come up with \nnew ideas for restructuring the management of
  the industry with \nseemingly little effect. How will the politicians res
 pond to the \ninsights they gain from the rail professionals? Which party 
 has the best \nand most competent vision for the future? Come along on Fri
 day to find \nout.
LOCATION:Riley Auditorium\, Clare College
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