Railroad Forums
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Semaphore Sam wrote:Add to the mixture, Mr. Matthews, European Elections due if the issue is not resolved by mid-April, in which the EU does NOT want UK participation.At present it seems quite likely that the actual date of leaving the EU will be postponed yet again - from the end of next week. That is likely to be until later than the elections for the European Parliament. In that case Britain will have to contest those elections. This question fills many pages of the daily and Sunday press, so that there is too much to write about here in a short paragraph. In any case there is not likely to be much effect on rail traffic. And even now it is by no means certain that Britain will actually leave the EU. A big majority of MPs are opposed to leaving. They may prevent it. Theresa May may be replaced. A coalition between moderate Tories and Labour is suggested. The group of MPs - almost all Tories - who are fanatical about leaving would lose their grip on the government if a cross party administration could be arranged.
Interesting times, indeed! Sam
Gilbert B Norman wrote:Mr. Matthews, could 2019 be 1688 all over again for the Mother Country?The situation is developing further. The recent local elections for County and other local governments have seen a huge defeat for the Tory party who have lost several hundred seats - and control of several local governments. It is not clear why the electorate voted against them, but the general air of incompetence may well be the main reason. The main beneficiaries have been the Liberal Democrats, the only unequivocal Remain party. The Labour party, which has fudged its policy caused by a leader who seems to be in favour of Leave and a membership largely in favour of Remain also lost seats, though not as many as the Tories. Are we heading towards a General Election, or a second Referendum on EU membership? There have been increasing calls at meetings of the Tory party for the Prime Minister's replacement. The future seems very uncertain. I think leaving the EU looks increasingly unlikely.
While I hope more civility will prevail and Tessie will not see the Tower of London other than as a private citizen tourist, she could easily end up reviled as the worst PM, the modern UK has known, beating out Chamberlain for that dubious title.
The EU Agency for Railways has issued its first vehicle authorisation, three weeks after becoming the European authorising entity for rail traffic on June 16.I wonder what, if any, effect Brexit would have on this? Further down the article it says that Switzerland is able to access it on a case by case basis, so it can apply to non-EU states, but it sounds as if it is much simpler if you are an EU state.
ERA said the authorisation covering conformity-to-type of 30 wagons for operation in multiple countries was an ‘historic step to break down barriers in Europe’...
Cross-border operators can use ERA’s ‘one-stop shop’ tool to access a single integrated process to obtain vehicle authorisations, single safety certificates or to request ERTMS approval...
Getlink says Brexit uncertainty and economic slowdown have affected bookings
Of all the lazy criticisms of Brexit, the laziest is that those who voted to leave the European Union were being “emotional,” not rational. You hear it said most often in London, which voted overwhelmingly to remain.
Yet walking through the Church of the Holy Trinity in this village of fewer than 4,000, I grasped right away why Brexit won. The reason wasn’t emotion but that potent, rooted, ineradicable sense of local and national civilization that is plain to see in England
Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2019 6:09 pm"taking orders" from some distant bureaucracy "over on the Continent" (Brussels)What a lot of Brexiteers conveniently forget is that Britain is the third most powerful country in the EU and as such has a huge amount of influence on how those "orders" are made in Brussels. A lot of them are in fact common sense regulations which make life easier for everyone in Europe, including the UK - rail standards across the EU are a good example. They are negotiated in good faith between all stakeholders, not imposed in a vacuum.
Brexit has ceased to be the “will of the people” and in a second referendum 55 per cent would vote Remain, analysis of British Social Attitudes Survey respondents has suggested.Who am I to pass judgement on the UK's political process, but to this guy on the "other side of the ditch", it would hardly seem that Boris was "elected by the people" (if he hangs around long enough, then he must). There is no going back once the plug is pulled - and if there is any foundation to the linked material, the people don't want Brexit.
The new National Centre for Social Research data also found that just six per cent now think the UK will secure a good Brexit deal - a massive reduction from the 33 per cent who were optimistic about the outcome of negotiations when the Article 50 process was triggered in March 2017.
The findings have led the centre’s senior research fellow Sir John Curtice to warn MPs discussing Brexit in Parliament: “There is seemingly room for debate about whether leaving the EU is still the ‘will’ of a majority of voters in the UK
johnthefireman wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:57 am ERA issues its first vehicle authorisationThanks for the gentle reminder, Jeff.
The EU Agency for Railways has issued its first vehicle authorisation, three weeks after becoming the European authorising entity for rail traffic on June 16.I wonder what, if any, effect Brexit would have on this? Further down the article it says that Switzerland is able to access it on a case by case basis, so it can apply to non-EU states, but it sounds as if it is much simpler if you are an EU state.
ERA said the authorisation covering conformity-to-type of 30 wagons for operation in multiple countries was an ‘historic step to break down barriers in Europe’...
Cross-border operators can use ERA’s ‘one-stop shop’ tool to access a single integrated process to obtain vehicle authorisations, single safety certificates or to request ERTMS approval...
