Lack of certainty amid delays to HS2

Network Rail published its £44bn, five-year plan for the railway in England and Wales, an increase of £1.8bn on CP6 sees increased investment in tackling climate change, improving train performance, and investing in things that matter to passengers and freight users.

This lack of certainty around the creation of Great British Railways, which will take on a wide-ranging management role for “track and train”, has caused some reduction in confidence and investment by the rail supply chain, as reported by Petards

Though the increase in rail spending is welcome, the opportunity is balanced by the challenge of managing infrastructure, that in some cases is nearly two centuries old, especially when combined with the impacts of a changing climate, and significant inflation risk

The UK government decision to delay some aspects of the HS2 project is unlikely to save costs in the long term and feels like a short term fix taken by a government more focused on the general election in 2024.

Projects

HS2

Transport Secretary Mark Harper accepts HS2 delays will not save money The governments decision to delay construction of the London terminus of HS2 at Euston to save costs, will cost an initial £200m

Transpennine

The mu ti-b llion-pound the Transpenn ne Route Upgrade w ll deliver major upgrades on the 70-mile route between Manchester and York, transforming journeys across the North, better connecting towns and cities through more frequent, faster, greener trains, running on a better cleaner and more reliable railway.

East West Rail Line

This line has been designed to boost connectivity between Oxford and Cambridge, unlocking up to 103 b llion GBP of econom c growth, accord ng to the DfT

Industry headlines

Network Rail: UK industry reacts to Network Rail spending plans. While there has been some praise for the forthright admission that funds are limited, there has also been criticism that the resultant plan is limited in scope, and the underlying trend is for care and maintenance, rather than grand renewal.

RSK: Latest acquisition for RSK is 1st Inrail, a subcontractor that specialises in reactive track repairs renewals and nstallation serv ces 1st Inrail Ltd has become RSK’s 13th acqu sition of th s year so far in its continuing quest to acquire turnover to manage debt.

Alstom: Tra n maker Alstom sees higher annual margin but delays mid-term targets. Alstom, which is recovering from the costly acquisition of Bombardier's (BBDb.TO) rail bus ness in 2021, expects an adjusted operating profit (EBIT) margin of 6% and "significantly pos tive" free cash flow in the twelve months to the end of March 2024

Siemens Siemens presents €2 bill on investment strategy to boost future growth, innovation and resilience In addition, there is an expected increase of around €0 5 billion in research and development (R&D), such as artificia intelligence and the industrial metaverse in fiscal year 2023 versus prior year

Tetra Tech: Tetra Tech achieved record quarterly resu ts in key financial metr cs ncluding:

Revenue $1 16 billion, up 36% Y/Y

Net revenue $970 mill on, up 39% Y/Y

Backlog of $4 27 billion, up 18% Y/Y

Knorr-Bremse: "We as a g obal market and techno ogy leader are overcoming the cris s much better than many other comparable businesses " Desp te the inflation-related price rises, Knorr-Bremse is st ll seeing very good demand among customers n Asian and North American countries

Hitach -Thales UK regulator expresses concern over Hitachi-Thales rail signal deal. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Japan s H tachi Rail and France s Thales SA's Ground Transportation business were leading supp iers of signa ling for main ine and urban railway networks, along w th Siemens and Alstom

Supporting mental health in the UK rail industry

The Ra lway Mental Health Charter (RMHC) is a framework to help promote manage and support workforce menta wellbeing Aligned with good practice the charter responds to ndustry needs and provides targeted actions and resources for improving mental health in your company.

The ra l industry workforce are exposed to unique working condit ons Shift patterns challenging demands and working conditions, and exposure to potentially traumatic events are some of the issues that make the management of mental health in the industry particularly important. To support the workforce, it s vital for companies to take a structured and evidence-based approach to managing mental health

1500

Colleagues have engaged with the programme

£700,000

Savings from colleagues engaging with the programme rather than being absent from work.

Sector skills challenges

The National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) and industry partners have refreshed the ‘Routes to Rail’ resource, in a sign that talent attraction will be key to delivering the boosted CP7 programme. It intends to deliver on the rail sector’s looming skills gap and workforce shortfall through a targeted approach to attracting new talent.

Routes into Rail has launched its new website at the UCAS Discover Exhibition in London’s ExCeL The revamped website seeks to attract a brand-new generation of talent into the rail sector bringing new ski ls and significantly increasing the workforce

Routes into Rail is the first point of contact for adv ce and information on al entry pathways into the sector for young people, and those returning to work or changing career from the military. It will also target information parents teachers and career advisors

Routes into Rail is a sector-wide initiat ve, originally launched in 2020 during the pandemic, its website relaunch will broaden its reach through showcasing the mu titude of exciting and rewarding ra l careers on offer and demonstrate that there’s a career in rail for everyone no matter their age, gender or educat on leve

Routes into Rail is funded by six industry founding partners: Network Rail, HS2 VolkerRai , Amey The Rail Industry Association (RIA), and The Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The initiative is led by NSAR

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Solving the skills shortage by looking at the opportunities rather than the challenges

Bam Nuttall a ong with a number of other ndustry leaders, has teamed up with business transformat on enterprise Fuel Change to help bring to ife a pioneering sustainabi ity and skills deve opment programme for our next generat on of engineers

Fuel Change is an organisation working with businesses and schools to enable apprentices and new graduates to help develop solutions to the climate crisis. Its Challenge Programme forms pro ect teams of young people from businesses and organisations and sets them real world carbon reduction challenges

National infra-skills college to close

The National Col ege for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI) was aunched by the government in 2017 as the National Co lege of High Speed Rai .

The col ege has now announced it wi l close by the end of July

“The college was a brilliant facility that unfortunately struggled to get traction with employers and new learners."

A asdair Re sner, ch ef execut ve of the C vil Engineer ng Contractors Assoc ation