Great British Railways’ (GBR’s) Rolling Stock and Infrastructure Strategy (RSI Strategy) will enable improvements to electrification and accessibility, the government has said.
The strategy was published by the Department for Transport (DfT) and DfT Operator on 28 September and in a statement to parliament on 12 October, DfT secretary of state Heidi Alexander said: “The Strategy establishes a long-term framework for how Great British Railways will plan and deliver rolling stock and the infrastructure that supports it.
“Through integrated decision-making, clearer priorities and a more coordinated pipeline of activity, it will help secure better outcomes for passengers and taxpayers while giving the rail supply chain greater confidence to invest, innovate and create skilled jobs across Great Britain.”
She added that the strategy “accelerates progress towards more accessible trains, with clearer expectations for level boarding and alighting, where possible, as well as accessible toilets, consistent passenger information and reliable Wi-Fi.”
The strategy document says: “The current system for assisted boarding and alighting usually relies on staff assistance, ramps or workarounds, limiting passengers’ independence and reducing the railway’s attractiveness and usability.
“It is entirely right, therefore, that unassisted level boarding and alighting between the platform and the train will become GBR’s baseline expectation wherever practicable, with the ambition over time of removing the need for passengers with mobility impairments to have to seek help from a member of staff across most of the network.”
Alexander added that Great British Railways would be “better placed to make integrated decisions across fleet and infrastructure that support the transition to a lower-carbon railway, advance the Government’s net-zero objectives, improve local air quality and reduce noise, while ensuring future decisions are taken on a whole-life and whole-system value basis.
“The Strategy sets out the practical steps needed to support this transition, through electrification, battery-electric trains and other solutions, which will be deployed to reduce emissions while maintaining reliable and affordable services for passengers.”
The document says: “Electrification has too often been delivered poorly under the railway system GBR is inheriting.
“Improving how it is planned and delivered is therefore essential to realising the benefits of the traction choice set out in this strategy.”
Alexander continued, saying the strategy will be “underpinned” by a Fleet and Infrastructure Plan (Fip) which will be the “principal internal mechanism” for coordinating rolling stock and infrastructure activity.
The Fip will “support the sharing of appropriate information with the market on forthcoming fleet and infrastructure requirements, helping give suppliers greater confidence to invest and plan”, she said.
Responding to the strategy, Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) director Ben Brittain told NCE: “Bringing train and track decisions under one directing mind is the right instinct, and the strategy is refreshingly honest about the boom-and-bust that has driven up costs and drained rail of skills.
“But a strategy is not a pipeline. The Fleet and Infrastructure Plan will remain internal, with industry offered only a filtered view and no date for when, and the electrification it relies on comes with no mileage, timetable or new funding.”
He added: “Design and engineering firms cannot recruit or invest against ‘subject to affordability’. If GBR is serious about ending stop-start delivery, it should publish as much of the FIP as possible and bring enhancements, including early-stage development, into guaranteed multi-year funding.”
Main image: A train with GBR livery