VIEWPOINT
NE WS IN BRIE F Steve Feeney is Head of Transportation, UK at HDR
Strategies for Efficient Project Delivery in the UK’s Railway Industry Steve Feeney, Head of Transportation, UK at HDR on transforming rail project delivery by increasing efficiency, managing risk and overcoming the funding challenges facing Britain's railway infrastructure
T
he UK has an opportunity to improve how rail projects are delivered. To achieve this, we should transform the status quo and try to avoid the pitfalls seen on many recent major infrastructure projects. This will help to create savings and greater efficiencies; critical factors at a time when the rail industry faces considerable funding challenges. At HDR, we believe that there are four elements to this transformation.
Integrated delivery teams for improved risk management
There has been a trend in the industry to move away from the traditional design-bidbuild approach, with schemes being handed over to contractors increasingly early. While early engagement between client and delivery teams can be beneficial, it should be carried out in a considered way ensuring the project scope is sufficiently developed and understood, such that risks can be properly assessed and mitigations planned early in the project lifecycle. Contractual arrangements that allow early engagement while simultaneously effectively managing and balancing risk can prevent costly overruns, and risks being passed onto the wrong party. The risk should sit with whichever party is best placed to manage it. Approaches such as progressive design and build and the use of alliance or 36
enterprise models – as seen in the latest Network Rail control period – can promote this holistic approach to risk management and drive a step-change in collaboration in the industry. Introducing shared project goals and incentivisation models focussed on project outcomes can encourage a best-for-project mindset and deliver considerable benefits.
Sustainability
Another critical strategy for project efficiency, ultimately leading to a resilient rail sector, is to prioritise sustainability from the earliest stages. Putting the scale of the challenge into context, the latest statistics from the Office of Rail and Road reveal that total CO2 equivalent emissions for UK passenger and freight trains combined grew by five per cent in the year to March 2024; and this is without considering the nontraction emissions associated with energy and water usage, and waste generation of rail facilities. We need to consider rail infrastructure delivery in terms of whole lifecycle carbon; much of our rail network continues to use Victorian infrastructure and we should therefore think about how new projects can be used for the next hundred years and beyond, with adequate measures to minimise both embodied and operational carbon going forward. This calls for a multifaceted strategy, with the industry working towards decarbonisation targets in unison.
ARRIVA GROUP APPLIES FOR OPEN ACCESS RAIL CONNECTIONS IN YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER Arriva Group has notified Network Rail that it is submitting an open access application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for direct services between Cleethorpes, Grimsby and London, making use of Grand Central’s existing open access route to Doncaster and extending the service to new underserved areas. The proposals are expected to be welcomed by communities, businesses and organisations in East Lincolnshire, who have been campaigning for the reintroduction of direct rail links to London, with Cleethorpes not having a direct service for over 30 years. EMR TURNS ON NEW SOLAR PANELS AT EAST MIDLANDS PARKWAY East Midlands Railway (EMR) has hosted an official event at East Midlands Parkway station to unveil new solar panels and mark the beginning of its journey to net zero – titled Getting There Greener. The solar panel installation, developed in partnership with Nottingham-based MTG Energy Solutions, features 244 solar panels on the station’s roof. The £104,000 project is expected to cut the building’s CO₂ emissions by 16 tonnes annually and significantly reduce operational costs, with a payback period of around six years. The panels also utilise the latest anti-glare technology to ensure the safe operation of the railway as drivers travel south towards the station. MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS ON THE RHYMNEY LINE Transport for Wales has announced significant infrastructural enhancements to the Rhymney valley railway line as part of the South Wales Metro project. The programme involves as intensive eight-month engineering programme to transform and electrify over 15 kilometres of track. The work would include installation of Overhead Line Equipment and station upgrades throughout the route. The project represented the next phase of development following the introduction of Class 231 trains to the line in 2023. Upon completion, the infrastructure would support Class 756 electrified rolling stock on the network.