September 2020
REFORMING PUBLIC TRANSPORT AFTER THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE FROM THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (RIA) INTRODUCTION This submission constitutes the response from the Railway Industry Association (RIA) to the above call for enquiry published by the Transport Committee on July 2020. BACKGROUND TO RIA 2.1
RIA is the trade association for UK-based suppliers to the UK and world-wide railways. It has over 300 companies in membership covering all aspects of rolling stock and infrastructure supply and covering a diverse range of products and services. As well as most of the larger, multi-national companies, 60% of RIA’s membership base is comprised of SMEs.
2.2
The Oxford Economics 2018 report shows that the UK rail sector contributes annually over £36bn Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy, employs some 600,000 people and generates £11bn in tax revenues. For every £1 spent on rail, £2.20 of income is generated in the wider economy, meaning rail is not just an important sector in its own right, but it is also crucial for UK plc, its economy and connectivity. Rail has been a growing industry with the number of rail journeys expected to double in the next 25 years, along with significant growth in rail freight traffic, regardless of shocks such as the present Coronavirus crisis. The full report Oxford Economics report can be accessed here.
2.3
RIA provides its members with extensive services, including: • Representation of the supply industry’s interests to Government, Network Rail (NR), TfL, HS2, ORR and other key stakeholders; • Providing opportunities for dialogue and networking between members, including several Special and Technical Interest Groups; • Supply chain improvement initiatives; • Provision of technical, commercial and political information every week; • Export promotional activity, through briefings, visits overseas, hosting inwards visits; and • Organising UK presence at exhibitions overseas. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The UK railway network has and continues to be essential for the nation’s economy. During the height of the lockdown, the rail network enabled key workers and resources to get where they needed to be, and investment in the network will be essential to reboot the economy. As public spending comes under challenge, passenger numbers are yet to recover, there is a significant risk that work volumes for suppliers are reduced or delayed, threatening both the retention of skilled staff and the medium-term recovery. Rail should be a central plank of Government plans to ‘build back better’ and instead of holding off investment, we urge to accelerate rail projects, which will help deliver a rail
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network ready for the future, providing a modern, safe and low carbon mode of transport, boosting the UK’s exports offer and providing much needed employment and investment for communities across the UK. Our key asks are: • The Government should restore confidence in public transport as safe, clean and green form of transport. • Government, rail clients and rail suppliers need to maintain dialogue and collaboration, to help ensure a sustainable supply chain. • Government to support Bike & Ride initiatives. • Rail should be a central plank of Government plans to ‘build back better’. • All rail clients to engage with suppliers to reduce waste and increase efficiency. • Recognise the value of rail to local economies and continue placing rail projects at a centre of national and local transport plans. • Procure, plan and support zero carbon initiatives and innovations. • Continue supporting rail innovation. • Continue support the development of solutions that address the spread of disease and ensure effective crisis management in public spaces. CONTEXT 3.1
The UK railway network has and continues to be essential for the nation’s economy. During the height of the lockdown, the rail network enabled key workers and resources to get where they needed to be, and investment in the network will be essential to reboot the economy.
3.2
The government wants to understand the long-term implications of the pandemic for the use of public transport and the way that people choose to travel, both locally and for longer domestic journeys.
3.3
The Transport Committee enquiry states that the pandemic has resulted in more people working from home, shopping online and choosing to walk, cycle or drive, rather than catch a bus or train.
3.4
Whilst passenger numbers using public transport have reduced during the lockdown, before the crisis, rail passenger numbers were at all-time high, having doubled over the past 20 years. To help restore the confidence in public transport, the Government must be mindful of the messages it sends to the public; and also take a long-term approach to passenger and freight volumes, and not just base its thinking on the short-term.
3.5
The Government’s advice during the Coronavirus pandemic was strongly focused on not taking public transport, with messages like “If you need to travel, check if it is possible for you to walk, cycle or go by car instead of public transport”, or “do not use public transport if you can avoid it.” These messages were being broadcasted until mid-May, with some appearing even in mid-July 2020.
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3.6
This has had a significant impact in public’s opinion and confidence in using public transport. According to Transport Focus “Travel during Covid-19” survey, before the outbreak 43% of those surveyed said they used public transport at least few times per month. The survey also revealed that feeling safe is key for people going back on using public transport, with 31% saying that they will not use public transport for any reason until they feel safe.
3.7
RIA ask: the Government should restore confidence in public transport as safe, clean and green form of transport – working with rail suppliers to develop appropriate responses to the Coronavirus risks.
3.8
During the pandemic there has been a high level of engagement and collaboration between Government, rail clients - particularly Network Rail - and the supply chain. Rail suppliers are very appreciative of the positive action by Network Rail to support its supply chain with, for example, prompt payment and keeping projects going wherever safe to do so.
3.9
RIA ask: Government, rail clients and rail suppliers need to maintain dialogue and collaboration, to help ensure a sustainable supply chain. There is a significant risk, without this collaboration, that work volumes for suppliers will reduce or work is delayed, threatening both the retention of skilled staff and the medium-term recovery. This risk is heightened at a time when public spending comes under challenge, passenger numbers are yet to recover, and the railway industry still awaits publication of the Williams Review and decisions on restructuring train operations.
3.10
The Coronavirus lockdown has resulted in more people than ever using active travel modes to commute to work or for leisure journeys, prompting cities to dedicate more street space for walking, cycling and other pedestrian activities.
3.11
Rail needs to continue being an integral part of the active travel proposition. A train station is the optimal multimodal node and is ideally positioned to promote active travel via "Bike & Ride" type initiatives. A recent YouGov study, commissioned by Network Rail, revealed that 22% people are concerned that their bike will get stolen or damaged and 15% are concerned about insufficient bike storage at or near their place of work. The Department for Transport Walking and Cycling Statistics 2019 show two thirds of adults still feel that it is too dangerous to cycle on the roads.
3.12
RIA ask: Government to support Bike & Ride initiatives, to allow passengers cycle to stations and take their bikes on trains. For this, safe and secure bike storage facilities are essential at railway stations and on board of trains. An optional service at station facilities could include bike repair, maintenance and charging for e-bikes and other e-mobility devices. Another initiative for new rail infrastructure could be building cycle paths along railway tracks, providing safe and flat routes for cyclists with clean air and an opportunity to visit towns that do not have a railway station on that line, which would benefit local economies.
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3.13
The Government wants to understand the long-term implications of the pandemic to central and local governmental transport priorities and finances, and funding for transport.
3.14
Whilst the Coronavirus outbreak poses a challenge to the rail supply sector, in the long term it is clear that continued and accelerated investment in rail can help provide an economic recovery and achieve the Government’s aim of ‘building back better’. RIA believes that the need to travel and to transport freight by rail will not go away in the next 20 to 30 years and beyond. Therefore, the network cannot be neglected until customers – including passengers and freight – return, continuing to build and improve the network will generate jobs and investment, and deliver an even better, more connected, transport system for the future.
3.15
If the Government is serious about investing in rail projects, it must provide rail businesses with the visibility of future work, so that they can ramp up capabilities and be ready to deliver. For rail infrastructure, the Government has a list of rail enhancement upgrades contained within its ‘Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline’; however the list of projects has not been updated for a year and suppliers remain in the dark about which projects have progressed, which have not, and which will shortly be coming to market. In the Rolling Stock sector, the lack of visibility is even worse. There is no ‘Rolling Stock Investment Pipeline’ and the sector is currently in limbo, with Rolling Stock manufacturers and leasing companies unsure of what the market will look like in the coming months, let alone in the years ahead. Rolling Stock refurbishment companies are also seeing a drop-off in work.
3.16
On a more positive note, the cross industry collaboration during Coronavirus has led to initiatives such as Network Rail’s Project Speed where the ambition is “to halve the time and slash the cost it takes to do things”. RIA members strongly support this ambition and the process innovation and would like to see this type of openly collaborative and win-win approach being adopted across all clients, both Infrastructure and Rolling Stock.
3.17
RIA ask: rail should be a central plank of Government plans to ‘build back better’. Instead of holding off investment, we urge the Government to accelerate rail projects, which will help deliver a rail network ready for the future, providing a green low carbon mode of transport, boosting the UK’s exports offer, and providing much needed employment and investment for communities across the UK.
3.18
RIA ask: all rail clients to engage with suppliers to reduce waste and increase efficiency. More initiatives like Project Speed are needed to make the changes in both, clients and suppliers, which will increase what can be delivered with the available funding, and, combined with longer term planning (see 3.22), create a more sustainable supply chain bringing further economic and societal benefit, in terms of jobs and skills.
3.19
The Government wants to understand the long-term implications of the pandemic to devolution of transport policy-making responsibilities and powers.
3.20
RIA recognises the move towards devolution of funding can be an effective way of prioritising transport asks and ensuring efficient delivery which reflects local interests. Sub-national and regional strategic transport bodies, such as Transport for the North, Transport for Wales, and Midlands Connect, can help to ensure that transport projects are more closely linked with local economic priorities. To be effective, however, these bodies need long term funding certainty to inform their strategic plans.
3.21
It is also vital that the Government builds on its economic strengths and commits to the funding and financing of Crossrail 2, East West Rail and the Cambridge-Oxford-Milton Keynes Growth Corridor, and to connecting Northern Powerhouse Rail and Crossrail with HS2. This would align with the Government’s ‘build, build, build’ infrastructure agenda.
3.22
RIA ask: recognise the value of rail to local economies and continue placing rail projects at a centre of national and local transport plans. For this the Government needs to develop 30-year
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investment plans underpinned by clear and democratically accountable multi-year funding settlements. 3.23
The Government wants to understand the long-term implications of the pandemic for the decarbonisation of transport and the capability to meet net zero carbon emissions targets by 2050.
3.24
There is a need for far greater clarity and certainty from Government on the policy roadmap for rail decarbonisation. Existing targets such as no-diesel only traction by 2040 and net zero carbon by 2050 need to be underpinned by further policy, guidance and targets so that the rail supply chain can make informed decisions now.
3.25
RIA supports Network Rail’s Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS), published in September 2020, and the Government’s efforts to create the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. Both these strategies will bring some much-needed clarity of the development roadmap for alternative traction solutions, including battery and hydrogen powered trains, as well as available funding to electrify the network.
3.26
The rail industry and supply chain needs to understand what is required and by when to make the transition to net-zero appropriately staged so that public sector investment is phased and managed, and to maximise private sector investment by removing the risks and uncertainty.
3.27
RIA ask: procure, plan and support zero carbon initiatives and innovations by including embodied carbon considerations in procurement specifications, starting a rolling programme of electrification now, and supporting early introduction of hydrogen and battery powered train fleets.
3.28
The Government wants to understand the long-term implications of the pandemic to innovation and technological reform within transport.
3.29
Network Rail expects to invest a total of £357 million in Research, Development & Innovation through its five-year Control Period to March 2024 to drive improvements across its infrastructure through new technology. The Government also made available £9.4 million through Innovate UK and the Department for Transport to invest in demonstrations of new technologies that could improve rail services. Rolling stock owners have also invested significant sums in R&D.
3.30
RIA is a founding member of the UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN), a collaboration between academia and the industry, aiming to accelerate new technologies and products from research into market applications.
3.31
RIA is also part of the Technical Leadership Group (TLG), which acts as the rail industry sponsor and owner of the Rail Technical Strategy and is leading the Innovation Leadership Group (ILG), which reports to TLG. The purpose of ILG is to create the environment to enable an increase in the uptake of innovation in the industry through identifying strategic priorities, providing leadership and supporting the delivery of non-technology enabled innovations such as new services, processes or business models.
3.32
RIA supports these innovation funding initiatives and stresses that for UK to continue being the leader in rail transport, a continued support for innovation and technological reform is vital. There is often an expectation that innovation must be funded and developed by suppliers, however these are often SMEs with limited funds to develop significant technologies. In the current industry model, even the largest companies may lack the pipeline visibility or margins to be able to invest in innovation, to the level they might wish. It is therefore essential that Government and clients create an environment which is conducive to innovation and that the ‘pump priming’ innovation funding, that is available, is sustained and ideally increased.
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3.33
However, innovation is not just about technology, it is just as likely to be about people and process and these areas have seen a number of innovations during the Coronavirus outbreak around collaboration and challenging processes as discussed earlier (see 3.18).
3.34
There is also process innovation in innovation itself. For example, the little used ‘Innovation Partnership Procedure’ in the 2015 Procurement Regulations allows clients to select the team(s) they want to work with, to solve specific challenges. Also valuable, would be an increasing adoption by clients of outcome specifications which allow suppliers to offer innovation, perhaps, supported by ‘early contractor involvement’ or ‘innovative contractor engagement’ methodologies to share the risk of development.
3.35
RIA ask: continue supporting rail innovation with funding, a conducive environment and with innovation friendly procurement approaches.
3.36
The Government wants to understand the long-term implications of the pandemic to the resilience of the transport system for future crises.
3.37
The UK rail network kept running during the height of the lockdown, enabling key workers and resources to get where they needed to be, with over 150,000 tonnes of freight being transported across the region each week. People working in rail were recognised as key workers by the Government and continued to provide services for passengers and goods and improve nation’s rail infrastructure. Rail operators, clients and suppliers worked together to bring measures, such as social distancing, air filtration, hand sanitizing and mask usage, to ensure that travelling by rail is safe.
3.38
Now we must restore passenger confidence to use public transport again and moderate the messages that are being delivered (see 3.5) to them.
3.39
Looking to the future, there is an opportunity to further improve public transport’s resilience for future crises through good design. This could include passive provision for social distancing at stations and on board, use of anti-viral surfaces, efficient air filtration, clear and effective passenger information systems, flexible ticketing and other measures that will allow the network to safely carry more passengers in future crises.
3.40
RIA ask: continue support the development of solutions that address the spread of disease and ensure effective crisis management in public spaces with initiatives such as Knowledge Transfer Network Innovation Continuity Loans or Sustainable Innovation Fund. Deliver consistent messages to the travelling public that public transport is a safe transport mode to travel and encourage safe behaviour among passengers.
If you would like further information, please contact RIA Technical & Policy Manager Milda Manomaityte at milda.manomaityte@riagb.org.uk, or call 020 7201 0777.
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