Rail Delivery Group responds to Spring Statement
In today's Spring Statement, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that fuel duty will be cut by 5p a litre from 18:00 this evening until March 2023.
Responding to this, Andy Bagnall, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group, said:
“We recognise the desire to help those being hit by short term fuel price rises with a temporary cut in duty.
"In the long term, if the government is serious about meeting net zero targets it cannot make rail less competitive. Passenger and freight trains help to clean up the air in towns and cities and reduce congestion.
"That’s why we need an even approach to taxes, fares and charges across all modes of transport, so the cost of each reflects its environmental impact."
Contact Information
Layla Fazal
Notes to editors
- Taking the train cuts carbon emissions by two thirds compared to traveling by car – with a single train removing up to 500 cars from our roads. Each freight train takes on average 76 lorries off the roads.
- At the last budget on 27 October 2021, the Chancellor announced that flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be subject to a 50 per cent cut in the Air Passenger Duty rate from April 2023. Travelling by train emits just one sixth of the greenhouse gases compared to flying (BEIS/Defra Greenhouse Gas Conversion Factors 2019) and the Independent Committee on Climate Change predicted that aviation is likely to become the largest contributor to UK emissions by 2050.
- Other countries are going further to support those who rely on public transport and encourage people to make greener choices. The New Zealand government announced they are cutting public transport fares in half alongside cuts to petrol excise duty and road user charges.