Report suggests savings could be made on next generation of trains

Network Rail draft route utilisation strategy names working together closely and procurement as ways to make savings

A Network Rail report has shown how huge cost savings could be made when Britain buys its next generations of trains.

The Network route utilisation strategy (RUS) – passenger rolling stock – draft for consultation, states that by reducing the number of different types of trains and by phasing orders over time, potentially hundreds of millions of pounds could be saved.

The report draws on months of work of all key players in the rail industry, including train operators, government, manufacturers and passenger transport executives.

The draft RUS recommends the rail industry should exploit the economies of scale in procurement wherever feasible, meet the needs of passengers and each market sector when ordering rolling stock and consider those infrastructure works needed to allow the rolling stock to be interoperable within the market sector it serves.

Also, consider the phasing of future rolling stock procurement and infrastructure planning, including the potential for extending the life of existing vehicles.

The draft RUS also shows that passenger rolling stock costs are currently £1.8bn per year, 5,000 new vehicles have been introduced to the network since 1996 and there are now 12,000 vehicles on the GB rail network today, divided into 64 different rolling stock classes.

Also, that the average cost per vehicle, according to the Competition Commission is £1.1m, that owing to the plethora of different vehicle designs, eight per cent (£75m) of average procurement costs is on non-recurring costs associated with the development of bespoke rolling stock and that 20 per cent of procurement costs could have been saved between 1988 and 2010 if there had been continuity of orders.

Paul Plummer, Network Rail director, planning and development said: "Simplicity and inter-operability must be the key to value for money in train procurement."

"Train operators must play their vital role in specifying train design along with Network Rail’s role in specifying to achieve lower whole-life infrastructure costs."

Further information:
Network Rail