Viewpoint

Levelling up rail infrastructure:

Andrew Cullis, risk analyst at Equib, explains why a robust risk management approach is key

The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget announcement of a £46 billion fund for levelling up UK rail networks will help to level the playing field with the Capital, speeding up journey times between cities and supporting the economy, by creating much-needed jobs. However, in order to optimise outcomes for rail infrastructure projects and ensure that taxpayers’ money is put to best use, adopting a risk-focused approach will be vital.

Delivering a pipeline of rail infrastructure will be an important part of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda. As well as speeding up journey times and improving connectivity between cities, the £46 billion funding boost should make it easier for businesses to secure the skills they need, while strengthening the UK’s economic growth and productivity.

Historically, major disparities have existed between the UK’s rail networks. While connectivity between the north and south has generally been good, routes to the east and west of the country have had far slower, less reliable rail networks. A focus on improving rail infrastructure in these regions and within coastal communities would also help to maintain the economic benefits linked to an uplift in domestic tourism experienced during the pandemic.

COP26 has also provided a reminder of the need to encourage the public to reduce their carbon footprint through increased use of public transport. Encouraging more people to opt for rail over car travel has the added advantage of reducing pressure on the UK’s already overburdened road and highway networks.

While the Chancellor’s spending pledge represents a step towards a more level playing field for UK rail infrastructure, a sustained commitment to investing in local communities and driving maximum value from the funding will be essential. Key to this will be keeping the passenger experience front of mind; put simply, this revolves around whether a train arrives promptly, whether the passenger got a seat and whether the train reached its end destination on time. It’s also worth bearing in mind that it’s often possible to drive significant value for local communities through relatively small investments in regional rail networks, such as lengthening platforms or adding shelter at stations.

The Better Value Rail Toolkit, launched by the Department for Transport, Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road earlier this year, is designed to support informed decision-making at an early stage in rail infrastructure projects and reduce the risk of time and cost delays. By focusing on the specific outcome that schemes are aiming to achieve for passengers and the public, the Toolkit also helps users to work out what the best intervention is for a particular scenario, even if it’s not a rail scheme.

A greater emphasis on risk management from the outset of major projects could also help to optimise outcomes for new rail infrastructure. This should involve ensuring that risk is integrated into every area of project activity, from preparing the project plan, right through to project delivery. Effective assumptions management is a key part of the process of quantifying risk and developing a robust risk process. Before launching in to populate risk registers, it’s important that project managers invest time in accurately capturing and assessing a range of different assumptions.

To make the most of the Chancellor’s funding boost, the industry must focus on developing a strong business case for any potential projects. These should focus on how the initiative would deliver value for money in terms of social and economic benefits for passengers and local communities. Conducting regular risk assessments throughout the project’s lifecycle, to identify any threats and opportunities, and clearly determining accountability for risk management within the project team are also key to ensuring initiatives don’t exceed their time and cost estimates.

An increased use of quantitative risk analysis tools could help stakeholders understand the confidence of project completion to time and to budget. They do this by providing project teams with valuable insights into which mitigation activities to prioritise, and where to allocate resources. To realise the potential of these models, better education will be required at all levels of the industry about what they do, how they work, how they can benefit the management of the project and their limitations.

Securing the right skills will also be vital to bridging the gap between London’s rail networks, and those in other parts of the UK. Rail is a particularly complex area of construction, and the industry is facing a major skills shortage in specialist areas. As such, a focus on promoting jobs in this sector as an attractive career choice and ongoing investment in training will be required to maintain momentum in the delivery of major projects.

While the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget investment in levelling up UK rail infrastructure is positive news for the industry, a robust risk management approach will also be required to make the most of the funding available. This will help to ensure that any new projects deliver value for money, while bringing long-lasting benefits for local communities.