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13 December 2012
Rail industry prepares for the long term with new Technical Strategy
Rail industry leaders have outlined their shared long-term 30-year vision of the GB
railway by launching the new edition of the Rail Technical Strategy (RTS 2012),
informing industry’s planning for the years ahead.
Rail is already proving itself as central to the way people think about transport, and
something that can energise the economy. But how will Britain's railways be expected
to function in the future? Like most other industries, the railway needs to be able to
meet increased customer needs and expectations in a sustainable way, accommodating
more passengers and freight, while cutting cost and carbon.
But no single organisation can truly determine a strategy on this scale in isolation,
pushing the industry to see the big picture and work together as the railways' owners,
operators and suppliers in a 'whole system'.
As a result, all parts of the GB rail industry - through the Technical Strategy Leadership
Group (TSLG) - are bought into RTS 2012, supporting a 30-year vision for a world-class
national rail system, building and deploying the best innovation, technology, people,
principles and processes. The strategy is endorsed by Rail Delivery Group (RDG).
TSLG chair Steve Yianni explains:
‘The opportunities for the rail industry to capitalise on the application of new technology
are huge. In developing the long-term industry technical strategy, the only way to
generate an authoritative reference was for us all to work together collaboratively,
through TSLG, and agree to share the vision of the future opportunities and challenges
that we face.'
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RTS 2012 also aims to inform policy makers and funders about the potential benefits of
new techniques and technologies and provide suppliers with guidance on the future
technical direction.
Steve Yianni continued:
'We want to move technology ideas from world class universities through the testing
and development stages to the point at which they can be commercialised, by
collaborating and innovating with the whole supply chain. RTS 2012 helps focus the
minds on where we all agree we want to go.'
Welcoming and endorsing RTS 2012, RDG chair Tim O'Toole commented:
‘This is an industry-led strategy that we can all embrace and treat as our technical
compass. It shows everyone, including investors and stakeholders, that rail has an
exciting and vibrant future. Our ambition is to meet the public's expectations on
delivery, performance and economy, which we can do only if our approach is grounded
in the best research and innovation available to us. Our approach to the next control
period must be set in the context of the long term technical strategy for the industry.'
RTS 2012 is also bought into by the government, ensuring the technical vision is further
joined up with the public policy arena, and planning processes.
Minister of State for Transport, Simon Burns MP said:
'I welcome the industry picking up the baton to develop this Rail Technical Strategy.
Technology has a vital role to play in improving the railway’s performance, cutting its
costs along with carbon emissions and delivering a better travelling experience for
passengers. By setting in place a 30 year vision, the railway is demonstrating that it has
a bright and exciting future, and the potential to support our economy and society for the
long term.'
TSLG is a cross-industry RSSB-facilitated expert body with representatives from
Network Rail, train and freight operating companies, rolling stock leasing companies,
suppliers, Transport Scotland, Crossrail, High Speed 2, and RSSB itself, as well as from
RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY
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Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Office: Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered in England No. 04655675
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groups with access to expertise such as chairs of the systems interface committees
(SICs), the university sector through Rail Research UK Association (RRUKA), other
industry organisations such as ATOC and Railway Industry Association, and
government and the regulator through Department for Transport and Office of Rail
Regulation.
RTS 2012 is available to read and download from TSLG's Future Railway website at
www.futurerailway.org. This includes a range of images and video material illustrating
industry's vision.
-EndsThis press release is issued by RSSB on behalf of TSLG.
For media enquiries, please contact:
RSSB press office
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Notes to Editors
1. The Rail Technical Strategy (RTS 2012) was launched by TSLG, its chair Steve Yianni and chair
of Rail Delivery Group, Tim O'Toole at the British Library on 13 December 2012.
2. Steve Yianni, chair of TSLG, is Technical Director at Network Rail. Steve graduated with an
Engineering Degree from Cambridge University in 1983. He is a chartered engineer and a fellow
of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In 1990, he attained an MBA from London Business
School. He has gained experience in a variety of roles in Engineering, business management
and leadership at the Ford Motor Company (from 1983 – 1991), JCB (from 1991 to 2007) and
Network Rail (from 2008).
3. Tim O'Toole CBE JD, chair of the Rail Delivery Group, has been chief executive of FirstGroup
since November 2010, having joined the Board as a Non-Executive Director in May 2009 and
subsequently being appointed Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive in June 2010.
He was, until the end of April 2009, Managing Director, London Underground. He joined
Transport for London in 2003 prior to which he was President and Chief Executive of
Consolidated Rail Corporation. He is a Non-Executive Director of CSX Corporation, a rail freight
transportation company in North America.
4. RTS 2012 outlines industry’s long term vision of the GB railway as a system and supports
industry’s planning processes. It aims to inform policy makers and funders about the potential
benefits of new techniques and technologies and provide suppliers with guidance on the future
technical direction.
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5. RTS 2012 can be explored on a dedicated area of TSLG's Future Railway website at
www.futurerailway.org, where it can also be downloaded in full as a pdf.
6. The first edition of the RTS was published by the Department for Transport in 2007 in conjunction
with the white paper Delivering a Sustainable Railway. A cross-industry group of senior
stakeholders – the Technical Strategy Advisory Group (TSAG) – was established to develop and
implement the strategy. Now renamed the Technical Strategy Leadership Group (TSLG), it has
produced this new edition to reflect progress in technology and technical processes since 2007.
7. The development of the second edition of the RTS (RTS 2012) builds on a consultation with all
parts of the rail industry in 2010. The strategy will help inform cross-industry planning, including
the Industry Strategic Business Plan, due to be published in 2013.
8. TSLG is an RSSB-facilitated cross-industry expert body made up of senior executive staff,
charged with developing and championing the Rail Technical Strategy, supporting
communication, managing strategic research, promoting innovation, identifying opportunities,
barriers and actions. TSLG has a remit to address future opportunities over a 30-year horizon
and works to a strategic direction agreed with the Rail Delivery Group.
9. TSLG membership comprise representatives from Network Rail (mainline infrastructure
manager), Crossrail and High Speed 2 (new railway development), FirstGroup and DB Schenker
(train and freight operating companies), Porterbrook (rolling stock leasing companies), Alstom
and Bombardier (suppliers), Transport for London, Transport Scotland, and RSSB itself, as well
as from groups with access to expertise such as chairs of the systems interface committees
(SICs), the university sector through Rail Research UK Association (RRUKA), other industry
organisations such as the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) and Railway
Industry Association (RIA), and government and the regulator through Department for Transport
and Office of Rail Regulation.
10. RSSB is a rail industry body which brings all parts of the rail system together to support shared
decisions, products and services, to help industry drive out unnecessary cost, improve business
performance and develop long-term strategy. This includes supporting the activities of a wide
range of stakeholder groups, including TSLG. For more information go to www.rssb.co.uk
11. RSSB manages the rail industry’s research and development programme, which covers ‘systems’
issues across the railway, engineering interfaces within the railway, and interfaces with other
parts of the community and society. A wide range of cross-industry groups sponsor research,
and TSLG has a dedicated fund specifically to do research to inform and support the Rail
Technical Strategy, and promote and accelerate innovation through the Enabling Innovation
Team.
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Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Office: Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered in England No. 04655675