Summary：UK: Minister for Exiting the European Union David Jones and Transport Minister Paul Maynard attended a round table meeting on March 1 to hear rail industry leaders’ views on the forthcoming Brexit negotiations

UK: Minister for Exiting the European Union David Jones and Transport Minister Paul Maynard attended a round table meeting on March 1 to hear rail industry leaders’ views on the forthcoming Brexit negotiations.

Issues discussed included market access, cross-border services, the supply chain, safety, technical standards, trade, customs and research and innovation.

The meeting included board-level executives from:

• Arriva
• British Steel
• Costain
• Eurostar
• Eurotunnel
• First Group
• Freightliner Group
• High Speed 1
• MTR Corp
• Network Rail
• Rail Delivery Group
• Rail Freight Group
• Rail Supply Group
• Railway Industry Association

Following the meeting, a joint statement was issued by the ministers, Rail Delivery Group, Rail Supply Group and Railway Industry Association. This emphasised that rail is essential to the UK economy, with operators and the supply chain employing up to 216 000 people and contributing up to £10·1bn/year.

‘The government and industry will work closely together to ensure that our railways, including our international links, continue to be a success, and to develop a full understanding of the opportunities that exiting the EU presents’, the statement said. ‘We will also work closely together to explore new opportunities for the industry to grow manufacturing and exports.'