Progress & Challenges
CIRO supports the creation of Great British Railways. The case for reform is compelling, and the direction of travel is right. But support for an idea is not the same as confidence that every question has been answered.
Good progress is being made in vertically integrating the railway. The creation of Integrated Railways in Kent, Anglia, Wessex and the West Midlands is beginning to show the benefits of combining track and train. But the purpose of Great British Railways is not just to vertically integrate – it is to create a simpler, more accountable railway with one organisation.
The activities of many passenger operators and all freight operators cross business unit boundaries. Almost all railway staff are required to engage with colleagues from other business units and with customers making journeys to and from other parts of the network. GBR must not focus solely on the vertical aspect of integration.
Success depends on recognising the whole network challenge. Customers must experience GBR as a single railway, not a fragmented railway. This is particularly important on routes and at stations with multiple operators. Similar challenges apply to network activities like timetable planning.
Not all customers experience the railway through a single business unit. A significant proportion of journeys cross the boundaries between individual railways.
CIRO’ s Operational Agenda for Great British Railways
A national framework with local delivery
Empowering people to make good operational decisions
Clear targets that drive the right behaviours
Devolution & stakeholders: balancing local priorities and national flows
A clear and transparent access framework
Technology to support good decision-making
A strategic approach to efficiency and workforce reform www. ciro. org
5