Rail industry launches ‘single plan’ for Britain’s railways

Network Rail and its suppliers have collaborated to launch a ‘single plan’ for Britain’s railways, which sets out how improvements could secure £85bn of economic benefit.

The plan, called In Partnership for Britain's Prosperity, makes four commitments for change:

• Strengthen the railway’s contribution to the economy, keeping running costs in the black, freeing up taxpayers’ money;
• Increase customer satisfaction by improving the railway to remain the top-rated major railway in Europe;
• Boost local communities through localised decision making and investment;
• Create more jobs, increase diversity and provide our employees with rewarding careers.

The plan, devised by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has the support of all the UK’s passenger train companies, as well as freight companies and industry at large.

“Today is a landmark coming together,” said RDG chief executive Paul Plummer. “This plan, delivered by a changing partnership railway, will secure the economic benefits from current investment by the public and private sectors, and enable further improvement and investment.”

The commitments were welcomed by a broad range of other groups, including independent passenger watchdog Transport Focus, the CBI, and the British Chambers of Commerce. The launch was also met with a positive response from the Railway Industry Association.

“The rail industry plan seeks to secure almost £85bn of economic benefits, boosting both the UK economy and its connectivity,” said RIA chief executive Darren Caplan. “And it will result in an even better service for passengers and freight, and ultimately even better value for the taxpayer too."

Simon Iwnicki, director of the Institute of Railway Research at the University of Huddersfield told Professional Engineering that it was great to see the industry demonstrating its willingness to work together. "The RDG coordinated activity is building on the work previously done by the wider industry which set out in its ‘Rail Technical Strategy’ the innovations required over the next 30 years and the Rail Supply Group’s ‘Fast Track to the Future’ vision for the supply chain," he said.

"This is also supported by the new £90M UK Research and Innovation Network ‘UKRRIN’  which links the key Universities carrying out railway research with the industry. It’s an exciting time for the railways and I feel confident that we will see significant improvements in capacity and performance as a result.”

Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.