The Railway Industry Association (RIA) Annual Conference 2024 has got underway, themed around the question ‘A fresh start for UK Rail?’

Opening the two day award-winning conference, the Rail Minister Lord Hendy told attendees at the Leonardo Royal Hotel London Tower Bridge that the answer to that questions is “yes”.

He said: “The Secretary of State Louise Haigh has made it her mission to move fast and fix things and in the railway we certainly do need to fix things. The most public facing thing, the apparent issue on the railway is its performance, and over the past few years we’ve seen punctuality, reliability and trust falling. Those problems are deeper than the COVID pandemic, though that gave us significant issues itself.

“At its core the railway is a promise. The promise is that when you buy a ticket or have a ticket, the train will arrive on time and reliably as the timetable is set. When that promise is broken, whether through delays, overcrowding or cancellations, the results are grim for the passenger, grim railway revenue, and grim for the whole of the industry. I can’t emphasise enough that you can’t disentangle that basic failing from everything else happening on the network and what it does to the country.

“Confidence and trust in the railway is earned and not bought, and it’s this Government’s mission and role to earn that confidence back. For too long we’ve tried to piece together a disjointed industry, one with responsibility and decision making muddled, and quite often, frankly avoided. To run a successful service you need three things; track, train and staff.

“Many people have spent years trying to reconcile fragmentation through a mass of conflicting contracts and contractual objectives and now we are going to restart the system. We’re committed to reform and that commitment starts with bringing our railway operations into public ownership. By restructuring under the new framework of Great British Railways, we aim to consolidate decision making and create a unified system that serves passengers better, which means that we stop blaming each other about what has gone wrong and start collaborating to put it right and improve performance.”

Lord Hendy’s speech, which was followed by a question and answer session, kicked off the two day event, which combines keynote speeches, panel discussions, interview sessions, spotlight exhibitor pitches and unique networking opportunities.

He said: “With each generation over the last 199 years the railways have adapted and today our mission has got to be to deliver improved performance, reduce costs and increase revenue, leading to more passengers and freight and enhanced accountability and strong investment.

“We’re giving our supply chain the clarity it will need and the stability it deserves and we’ve got a golden opportunity to build something that’s slightly functional but ambitious, forward thinking, innovative and prosperous to give us a railway that lives up to the standards we expect, that connects the country, brings people together and delivers the business.”

Addressing the audience, Lord Hendy added: “All of you have a huge part to play in that and the opportunities of better careers for people in an industry that is changing are huge, I hope on a personal as well as a corporate and business basis you’re all excited that we’re going to get on with this reform programme and in the meantime I want to end by thanking you for everything you do.

“It has been very hard to make the railway work. In fact, it’s been so hard to make it work that many people making it work forget what it’s for and don’t advocate what it’s for and what it delivers for the country as well as we should. So I’d like you to have the energy and and ambition to come with us, work with us and seize the opportunity that this fresh start under this Government can bring.”

Among those also speaking on day one include Sir John Armitt CBE from the National Infrastructure Commission; John Larkinson, Chief Executive at the Office of Rail and Road; David Hughes, Chief Executive at East West Rail; and Sir Jon Thompson, Chair of HS2.

Addressing the audience RIA’s Chief Executive Darren Caplan said: “Following the General Election in July we now have an opportunity to build a fresh start. Despite tough economic circumstances, sometimes low confidence in our sector, and mixed early signals from the Government’s political leaders back in July, the mood music now seems much more positive.

“The support in the Budget for major projects, manufacturing investment and long-term rolling stock pipelines was tangible, and passenger numbers, rail freight and revenues are all heading in the right direction.

“With rail restructure potentially simplifying and bringing track and train closer together – which many in rail and across the political party spectrum have called for over the years – let’s overcome lack of confidence and uncertainty; and, together, ensure we deliver that fresh start for UK rail.”

Ahead of the conference new polling of 250 rail business leaders was published by Savanta. It shows that almost half – 48 per cent – believe the industry will contract in the next year. The survey was conducted between September and October on behalf of RIA. Whilst the results follow a turbulent year of political uncertainty, the survey was carried out before the Budget on 30 October, which confirmed a number of major rail projects, including HS2 from Old Oak Common to Euston. The Budget also committed the Government to publishing a long-term rolling stock pipeline, which would give greater confidence to businesses.

Among its findings included:

• Only 26 per cent of respondents believe that the rail supply industry will grow in the next year, with 48 per cent saying it will contract. This is a slight improvement from last year’s score of 54 per cent.
• 46 per cent think their business will grow and 29 per cent say they will contract in the coming year. This is largely consistent with 2023 but is the lowest score of the last five years.
• As last year, 83 per cent think it likely that there will be a hiatus in rail work over the next year, for example due to the time taken to deliver Great British Railways-related rail reform, or uncertainty over enhancement or major projects budgets.
• The three main measures rail businesses will take in response to a hiatus in the coming year are freezing/slowing recruitment (51 per cent, up from 44 per cent in 2023), prioritising work outside the UK (51 per cent, up from 42 per cent in 2023), and pausing or slowing plans to expand in the UK (35 per cent).

Commenting on the results at the conference, Darren added: “The conclusions of the Savanta survey clearly reflect a second year of rail supply leaders being concerned about the outlook for the UK rail market and anxiety about their own business’s prospects and they confirm RIA’s longstanding calls that we need more certainty from the Government on which national, regional and local rail work – both track and train – it wants the railway industry to deliver in the months ahead.

“As I often say, we shouldn’t have to lobby for more work; rather, the Government – whatever its political colour – should be lobbying the rail supply sector to help it deliver the rail network it needs for economic growth, and to deliver its social value and decarbonisation ambitions.

“Added to the concerns many RIA members are currently having transitioning from Network Rail’s Control Period 6 (CP6) into CP7 – whether over work pipelines, lack of engagement, or poor communications – and we can only hope that the new Government and rail clients set out clearer roadmaps for rail investment as soon as possible, including plans for rail enhancements and rolling stock procurement and refurbishment.

“We hope – following the Budget last week, which did seem more positive – that by the time the next iteration of the Savanta survey takes place next year there will be an uplift in confidence.”

RIA’s Conference continues on Thursday (November 7th) with a live podcast with Green Signals, and fireside chats with Network Rail’s Andrew Haines, and Huw Merriman, Chair of Liverpool Manchester Railway Partnership Board.

Click here for more details.

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