A Checklist for Rail Strategies A practical framework for coherent, outcome-led and deliverable rail strategies and plans as Great British Railways is created.
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Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 Five Key Messages .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Lens 1: Outcomes .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Lens 2: Service Proposition .............................................................................................................................. 6 Lens 3: Enablers ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Lens 4: Capabilities .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Lens 5: Accountability and Engagement ............................................................................................... 9 Lens 6: Coherence ............................................................................................................................................. 10 Contact ...................................................................................................................................................................... 11 The growing family of rail, transport and wider government strategies (not exhaustive) RAIL
TRANSPORT
WIDER GOVERNMENT
Long Term Rail Strategy
Better Connected Strategy
Industrial Strategy
DfT
DfT
DBT
Rolling Stock & Infrastructure Plan
Devolved National Transport Strategies
English Devolution Framework
Scotland, Wales
MHCLG
Long Term Rail Plan
Mayoral Transport Strategies
Strategies on Housing, Energy, Decarbonisation
System Operator
Regional Authorities
DFTO, Network Rail and the Department for Transport
About RIA The Railway Industry Association (RIA) champions a dynamic UK rail supply sector. We help to grow a sustainable and high-performing railway, as well as promoting UK rail expertise and products to international markets. RIA has over 480 companies in membership, which is active across the whole of railway supply, covering a diverse range of products and services and including both multi-national companies and SMEs (60% by number). The rail industry is a foundation sector for the UK’s economy which supports sustainable investment and jobs in towns and communities across the UK.
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The rail network remains one of the UK’s most valuable assets, with potential to support growth and wider social benefits for communities right across the UK.
Introduction Rail sits at the intersection of ambitions for economic growth, housing, devolution, productivity, inward investment, connectivity and decarbonisation. Increasingly, these ambitions are shaped not only by UK Government, but also by devolved governments, Combined Authorities, Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local transport bodies. A long-term approach to rail must therefore reflect a distributed decision-making landscape, recognising that priorities, responsibilities and opportunities exist at national, regional and local levels. The expanding family of place, transport and rail strategies, implementation plans, roadmaps and action plans will not automatically form a coherent programme. No single document can achieve change by itself. The challenge is not simply producing individual strategies, but ensuring that they work together as a connected and iterative system, with a shared understanding of outcomes being sought, services required, capabilities needed and decisions necessary to deliver them.
Great British Railways (GBR) has a crucial role to play here, in addition to its role to improve the integrated operation of the railway. RIA’s checklist is designed to provide a practical sense-check for all those commissioning, producing, assuring or updating strategies. Developed with input from a cross-section of industry experts, it does not make policy judgements or evaluate existing strategies. Instead, it helps test whether the right questions have been asked across the strategy suite, whether assumptions and priorities are aligned, and whether the proposed direction is credible, deliverable and resilient over time. Importantly, the checklist considers not only what strategies say, but also the arrangements to implement. Successful delivery depends on clear governance, accountability and decision-making arrangements, ensuring that responsibility is matched with authority.
The checklist is organised around six ‘lenses’: OUTCOMES: Are the desired outcomes beyond the railway itself clear, prioritised and measurable, and is rail’s contribution to wider economic, environmental and social objectives clearly defined?
SERVICE PROPOSITION: Do strategies translate outcomes into a clear view of the connectivity, passenger and freight services required from the railway and wider transport system?
ENABLERS: Do funding, appraisal, governance and delivery arrangements provide the resources, incentives and mechanisms needed to turn ambition into action?
CAPABILITIES: Are the physical, digital, organisational and workforce capabilities needed to deliver the required service proposition clearly defined?
ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENGAGEMENT: Are ownership, accountability, stakeholder engagement and decision-making arrangements sufficiently clear to translate strategy into delivery?
COHERENCE: Do the full family of strategies, plans and roadmaps work together as a coherent system, with appropriate alignment between national, regional and local ambitions, assumptions and priorities?
How it should be used The checklist has greatest value when used early and repeatedly: during strategy commissioning, development, at formal assurance points, and when related strategies are reviewed together. It should be revisited alongside the railway’s existing planning and funding cycles. Applied as a tool for constructive challenge rather than compliance, it can surface important assumptions, expose gaps, and improve alignment before significant decisions are taken.
The aim is simple: to help Government, Great British Railways, devolved authorities and industry develop a set of strategies and plans that support wider objectives, work together as a coherent whole, make priorities and choices visible, and provide a credible basis for long-term delivery.
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Key Messages
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Start with outcomes, not rail
The future railway should be defined in terms of the outcomes it supports. Successful strategies start by defining what the railway is there to achieve and only then consider what services, capabilities and investments are required to deliver those outcomes. Rail should be positioned as an enabler of economic growth, productivity, housing, freight, connectivity, environmental improvement and wider social objectives, not simply as a transport system seeking funding. Strategies should explain how rail contributes to national, regional and local ambitions, and where rail is best placed to support wider transport, economic and societal outcomes.
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Be clear on priorities and choices
Strategies should make important choices and tensions explicit rather than leaving them implicit. Decisions about growth, affordability, capacity, customer outcomes, freight, regional priorities and long-term value should be clearly articulated and supported by evidence. Where objectives compete, strategies should explain how priorities have been balanced, what assumptions have been made and who is responsible for making those decisions. Clarity about priorities and funding scenarios makes strategies more credible, improves transparency and provides a stronger foundation for long-term investment and delivery.
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A clear vision for the future railway
There should be a clear line of sight from desired outcomes to the service the railway must provide, and from that service to the capabilities and investments required to deliver it. Strategies should articulate what the railway needs to look like in 5, 10, 15 and 30 years, with an appropriate level of detail at each horizon. This future railway map should help decision-makers, industry and investors understand the direction of travel while recognising that different places will have different priorities and that strategy needs to evolve as circumstances change.
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Clarify responsibilities, but break down silos
Success does not require every strategy to say the same thing. Different places will legitimately pursue different priorities and approaches. What matters is that the connections and alignment, as well as any important differences, between all the strategies are visible, explainable and understood. Responsibilities for strategy development and implementation must be clear to everyone. Therefore, the interdependencies between all the strategies must be made explicit. Teams then have to be empowered to work across boundaries collaboratively. For change to be effective and lasting, the many different parties affected by the strategies need to be involved and represented in their development.
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We need living plans, not ‘on the shelf’ documents
All strategies and plans must drive action across the organisations responsible for delivery, not simply exist as a published document. This requires clear governance, ownership, accountability and mechanisms for challenge. Strategies cannot sit in isolation from these processes. Strategies need to be clear on how progress will be monitored, how assumptions will be revisited and how changing circumstances will be reflected over time. Successful strategies create an enduring framework for decision-making that remains relevant as priorities, technologies and economic conditions evolve. Effective strategies should remain stable enough to guide long-term investment and capability development, even as they are periodically reviewed and refined.
LENS 1: OUTCOMES
Economic (growth, productivity investment)
Looking beyond the railway, do the strategies define the broader purpose of rail?
Environmental
Social
(net zero, cleaner air)
(jobs, connected communities)
Railway
Housing and placemaking (homes, vibrant, places)
This outcomes lens looks at
Devolution agenda (local growth, local decision-making)
whether strategies are anchored in a compelling account of the outcomes that should be achieved. It tests the clarity of definition and rationale for the outcomes, explaining rail’s role in supporting wider economic, environmental and social goals, alignment with national and regional objectives, and the needs of people and places. Across the different strategies, the following should be clear:
1. Outcome Definition
• • • • • • • • •
What outcomes are the strategies trying to achieve, and why they matter? How will success will be measured over time?
2. Rail’s Role in Society What role should rail play within the wider transport system? How does rail support economic growth, connectivity and quality of place? Are other interventions likely to be more or less effective than rail?
3. Economic, Environmental and Social Objectives How do strategies support economic growth, productivity and investment? How do strategies support housing, placemaking, regeneration and devolution ambitions? How do strategies support environmental objectives, including decarbonisation and air quality? How do strategies support social objectives, including access to opportunity and inclusion?
4. Customer and Connectivity Outcomes
• • • • • • •
Whose needs are the strategies designed to meet? What connectivity outcomes are required for people, places and businesses? How are passenger and freight outcomes defined? How might needs change over time?
5. Priorities and Trade-Offs What priorities and choices are being made, and are they explained openly? How are competing objectives balanced? What is the rationale for those prioritisation decisions?
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LENS 2: SERVICE PROPOSITION Passenger services
What service must the railway provide to achieve the desired outcomes?
Connectivity
Freight services
Railway
Accessibility & inclusion
The service proposition lens
Customer experience
translates strategic outcomes into the specific customer and connectivity requirements as part of end-to-end journeys. Before determining rolling stock, infrastructure, signalling or workforce requirements, strategies need to define the services that users, communities and the economy require from the railway. This includes journey times, connectivity, frequency, reliability, accessibility, affordability and freight capability. By defining the future service ambition, strategies should create a clear line of sight between desired outcomes and the capabilities and investments needed to achieve them. Across the strategies, the following need to be clear:
1. Connectivity
• • •
hy do different places, economic centres and freight corridors matter and W what level of connectivity is required between them? Where are the most important transport connectivity gaps, now and in the future? ow should rail address these gaps, along with other transport modes, as part of H end-to-end journeys?
2. Passenger Services
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
What assumptions are being made about future passenger demand? What capacity is needed now and in the future to support those assumptions? hat do the desired journey times and frequencies look like to support the W outcomes (e.g. housing growth)? What level of reliability is appropriate for different markets and routes? How should affordability and customer experience be balanced over time?
3. Freight Services Which freight markets are the railway expected to serve now and in future? hich services should be prioritised for rail freight to best support economic W growth, supply chains and environmental objectives? What service outcomes should freight customers be able to rely on? How will future freight growth be accommodated?
4. Accessibility and Inclusion What accessibility standards should rail users expect? What barriers prevent people from using the railway? How can accessibility, affordability and inclusion be consistently improved? How can the railway support a wider range of users and communities?
5. Customer Experience
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What needs to improve for passengers and freight customers? How will customer outcomes be measured? How will customer evidence and feedback influence future decisions?
LENS 3: ENABLERS
£
Do the mechanisms exist to make good decisions, secure investment, and deliver the railway the country needs?
Investment appraisal
Financial sustainability and whole-life value
Efficiency
Investment decisions that follow the strategy
1. Strategic Alignment from Funding to Outcomes The enablers lens considers whether the processes are in place to convert strategic goals into investable, affordable and deliverable plans. It reviews strategic alignment, appraisal, financial sustainability, funding and investment, together with industry, supply-chain and organisational capability. It also tests governance and decision-making arrangements. The purpose is to determine whether processes, resources, incentives, governance and institutional capacity support timely choices, sustained investment and effective delivery rather than leaving ambition disconnected from practical means.
• • •
re major decisions taken with a whole-system view of costs, benefits and A outcomes? re there clear mechanisms for allocating scarce resources and balancing A competing priorities? How are national, regional and local objectives reconciled when decisions are made?
2. Investment Appraisal
• • • • • • • • • •
Are economic, social and environmental benefits fully assessed? Does appraisal identify transformational opportunities as well as incremental improvements? Are assumptions transparent and challengeable?
3. Financial Sustainability Is the strategy affordable over its full life? Is revenue growth realistically reflected? Are deferred costs, future liabilities and long-term funding pressures visible?
4. Investment and Funding re funding responsibilities clear and aligned with those responsible for A deciding outcomes? Are opportunities for third-party investment being maximised? Are the full range of appropriate investment models considered? I s there a credible route to funding delivery, including clarity over the respective roles of taxpayers, users and private investment?
5. Delivery environment
• • • •
Are delivery and commissioning models sufficiently defined and robust? Are there clear steps to establish a credible pipeline of work? Are capability and supply-chain constraints assessed? Are timescales realistic? WWW.RIAGB.ORG.UK
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LENS 4: CAPABILITIES
What physical, organisational and industry capabilities are needed to deliver the required service proposition?
Rolling stock
Infrastructure and signalling
Stations and accessibility
Rail operations
Meeting customer needs
Safety and security
Technology and innovation
Sustainability and decarbonisation
1. Future Railway Capability The capabilities lens asks what the railway, its organisations and its supply chain must be able to do to deliver the required service. It covers future railway capability, rolling stock, infrastructure, digital systems, signalling, stations and accessibility, as well as workforce, skills, organisational capability, commercial and delivery capacity. This lens checks that requirements are linked to customer outcomes, phased across meaningful time horizons and expressed clearly enough to guide coordinated investment, planning and capability development.
• • • •
hat does the railway network and operations need to look like in 5, 10, 15 W and 30 years, at the appropriate level of detail for each time horizon, to support the service proposition (lens 2) and guide decisions today? How will capability requirements change across different planning horizons? re there clear, consistent and evidenced assumptions about the railway’s A current asset base? re there clear and consistent proposals about the future of different asset A types across the railway?
2. Infrastructure, Rolling Stock and Digital Capability
• • • • • • • • •
What opportunities exist to improve outcomes through timetabling, operational changes and technology? Where does the existing network support the required service proposition? What are the options to address shortfalls? What infrastructure, rolling stock and digital capabilities are required?
3. Stations, Access and Placemaking What role should stations play in accessibility, interchange and placemaking? How well are stations’ access arrangements designed to meet customer needs?
4. People, Skills and Organisational Capability What workforce, skills and organisational capabilities will be required? Where are the most significant capability gaps? o organisations across government, Great British Railways and the wider D industry have the capabilities needed to fulfil their future roles?
5. Industry Capability and Innovation
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What is the commercial and delivery capability required? Where are there gaps? How will innovation be incorporated earlier in planning and decision-making? re future work programmes sufficiently clear for the supply chain to invest and A develop capability with confidence?
LENS 5: ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENGAGEMENT
Do the strategies and plans establish a governance and decision-making framework capable of delivering change? The Accountability and Engagement lens tests whether there is a credible pathway from strategy to implementation. Delivery depends on Government, Great British Railways, devolved authorities, local transport bodies, investors, passenger and freight representatives, operators and
Ownership
Governance
Adaptability
organisations will have different responsibilities and priorities, successful delivery depends on clear accountability, visible interdependencies and effective collaboration across organisational boundaries. This lens examines ownership, governance, stakeholder engagement and implementation arrangements to determine whether responsibilities are matched with authority and whether partners are equipped to turn strategic ambition into sustained action.
Prioritisation
1. Ownership and Accountability
• • • •
Is there clear ownership of outcomes and delivery? Does accountability sit with those who have authority to act? Are responsibilities clearly understood across the organisations involved? Is there a clear distinction between policy responsibilities, strategic responsibilities and delivery responsibilities?
2. Governance and Decision Rights
• • •
the supply chain working together. While different
Collaboration
Strategies
re decision rights clear, with decisions made at the right level and by the A right organisations? Do governance arrangements support timely decisions rather than duplicate or delay them? Is there an effective mechanism for challenge, escalation and resolving competing priorities?
3. Collaboration and Engagement
• • • •
Have the right stakeholders been involved in shaping strategies? Are delivery partners and the supply chain involved early enough to shape plans? Are national, regional and local interests appropriately represented? re organisations empowered to work across boundaries where A interdependencies exist?
4. Prioritisation and Sequencing
• • • • • • • • •
Are priorities clearly defined? Is the sequencing logical and deliverable? Are key dependencies and interdependencies understood? H ow will priorities be managed where responsibilities are shared across organisations?
5. Adaptability and continuous improvement How will progress be monitored? Are delivery risks understood? Is it clear what would trigger a change in direction? Is there a clear process for reviewing and updating the strategy over time? re arrangements in place for periodic independent A challenge, assurance or review?
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The growing family of rail, transport and wider government strategies (not exhaustive)
LENS 6: COHERENCE
Does the family of rail strategies, plans and roadmaps work together as a coherent system? The Coherence lens assesses whether the complete family of rail strategies, plans and roadmaps operates as one connected strategic system. It tests the hierarchy between documents, consistency of messages and assumptions, alignment across outcomes, capabilities, enablers and accountability, and the treatment of shared priorities and choices. It also considers connections
levels, ensuring stakeholders can understand how different strategies contribute to a common direction while recognising that priorities may legitimately differ between places.
TRANSPORT
WIDER GOVERNMENT
Long Term Rail Strategy
Better Connected Strategy
Industrial Strategy
DfT
DfT
DBT
Rolling Stock & Infrastructure Plan
Devolved National Transport Strategies
English Devolution Framework
DFTO, Network Rail and the Department for Transport
Scotland, Wales
MHCLG
Long Term Rail Plan
Mayoral Transport Strategies
Strategies on Housing, Energy, Decarbonisation
System Operator
Regional Authorities
1. Strategic Hierarchy
• • •
Is the role of each strategy, plan and roadmap clear? Is it clear how they relate to one another? Is it clear whether each document is intended to set policy, define strategy, guide delivery or support implementation?
2. Shared Strategic Principles
• • • • •
with objectives and plans at national, regional and local
RAIL
I s there a clear set of shared principles connecting national, regional and local strategies? Where priorities differ, are those differences visible and explained? Do the strategies collectively provide a common understanding of direction? I s there a clear “golden thread” linking objectives, priorities and decision-making across different levels of the system? re dependencies on wider Government priorities and strategies clearly A understood and reflected?
3. Alignment Across the Framework
• • • • • •
Is there a clear line from outcomes to service proposition, capabilities, enablers and accountability arrangements? Are gaps or weak links between those elements identified and addressed? Do changes in one part of the framework trigger review of the others?
4. Priorities and Choices Consistency Are choices made in a consistent way across the strategy suite? Is the rationale for competing priorities transparent? Do the GBR strategies and plans provide a clear and consistent view of how the network will evolve?
5. Continuous Oversight and Updating
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• • • •
aken together, do the strategies cover the whole system without major gaps T or unnecessary duplication? Are responsibilities clear where national, regional and local plans meet? Is there a process for identifying and closing gaps as the strategy suite evolves? Is the strategy suite periodically tested against political, economic and technological change scenarios?
Contact This framework has been developed by the Railway Industry Association (RIA) through its Rail Strategies Working Group and a programme of engagement with stakeholders from across the railway industry, Government and related sectors. We welcome feedback on the framework, the checklist questions and how the approach could be applied to current and future rail strategies and plans. Railway Industry Association (RIA) Kings Buildings 16 Smith Square London SW1P 3HQ Telephone: +44 (0)207 201 0777 Website: www.riagb.org.uk
Robert Cook Policy & Public Affairs Director Email: robert.cook@riagb.org.u
Dominic Poole Policy & Public Affairs Manager Email: dominic.poole@riagb.org.uk
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Address: The Railway Industry Association, Kings Building, 16 Smith Square, London SW1P 3HQ Telephone: +44 (0)20 7201 0777 - Email: ria@riagb.org.uk