RIA ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT DECISIONS ON ROLLING STOCK INVESTMENT NEED TO BE MADE “VERY SOON”

RIA has started work on a rolling stock strategy to demonstrate the need for early decisions on investment.

Unless decisions are made very soon, new build and refurbishment facilities will be empty, given that the last rolling stock order is already more than 1,200 days in the past.

The RIA team are gathering data on rolling stock and decarbonisation to provide the evidence base for the RailDecarb23 campaign.

We have already published an audit of progress against the Government’s commitments in the 2021 Transport Decarbonisation plan. That report clearly showed that rail is falling behind other transport modes.

We have made arrangements to ensure that all of this work is guided and informed by input from RIA members. A steering group of members has been set up to guide the RIA team’s work on the rolling stock strategy and to ensure that we will be well-placed to offer a credible alternative to challenge the Great British Railways strategy to be more ambitious.

Meanwhile, the RIA technical function has also been busy on both infrastructure and track and signalling and telecommunications.

In June we delivered a one-day supplier conference on the SPEED Industry Partnership, which seeks to implement Network Rail’s project SPEED, which is designed to cut the amount of time it takes to deliver infrastructure projects and reduce cost. The following day we took part in a linked conference to introduce the train operating companies to the SPEED programme.

We also worked with RIA’s policy team to prepare briefings on

Network Rail’s Control Period

7 (April 2024 to March 2029) strategic business plans, which cover operation, maintenance and renewal of the railway in England and Wales - but not infrastructure enhancement projects, which would be covered by the long-awaited Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP). In addition, we provided an opportunity for Network Rail regions to brief members of RIA’s Infrastructure Group.

The Network Rail strategic business plans confirmed strong support for the transition to the European Train Control System (ETCS), the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System. However, we continue to be concerned that the volumes look insufficient to sustain the development of the necessary new skills and capability. June saw the first meeting of the Digital Signalling Industry Champions Council, which brings together representatives from across industry, including Government and suppliers. The Council was briefed on the proposed delivery plan for ETCS rollout.

Looking ahead to the autumn I would like to encourage members to participate in our meetings programme.

This includes:

■ a signalling and telecommunications group meeting (12 September), covering the CP7 programme mentioned above

■ a data group meeting (14 September), at RIA member, Cognizant, including a discussion on intelligent infrastructure

■ an environment and sustainability group meeting focussing on embedded carbon (26 September)

■ an electrification and decarbonisation group meeting including a low voltage seminar (3 October) and

■ a rolling stock group meeting (10 October) at the Wolverton facility of RIA member, Gemini.

The season is rounded out with:

■ a safety and standards group meeting, including presentations from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, the Rail Safety and Standards Board and the Infrastructure Safety Leadership Group (18 October) and

■ an infrastructure group meeting (7 November), which will include a presentation from the National Infrastructure Commission.

Milda Manomaityte Innovation Director