The Railway Industry Association (RIA), which represents the supply chain in the UK, has published ‘A Checklist for Rail Strategies’, a practical framework designed to help test whether the UK’s transport strategies work together as a coherent, deliverable system. The paper has a significant freight element written into its key points, and is aimed at the UK Government directly, as well as its nationalisation policy – Great British Railways (GBR), and for the attention of devolved authorities and industry at large.
Developed with input from RIA members and experts across industry, the checklist is built around six “lenses”: outcomes, service proposition, enablers, capabilities, accountability and engagement, and coherence. Notably, the document treats rail freight with equal importance to passenger provision – a perspective often lost in political publications, for the obvious reason of appealing to voters. The Association claims its checklist helps those commissioning, producing, assuring or updating strategies that test whether the right questions have been asked, whether assumptions and priorities are aligned, and whether the proposed direction is credible and deliverable over time.
Break down silos
The checklist argues that railway strategies should begin with the outcomes they are expected to deliver, rather than treating rail as an end in itself. These include economic growth, productivity, housing, connectivity and environmental improvement, alongside passenger and freight transport. For freight, this means recognising the railway’s role in moving goods, supporting industry and connecting businesses with domestic and international markets. Such objectives need to influence decisions about capacity, infrastructure and investment, rather than being added as an afterthought.
The RIA also calls for greater coordination between national, regional and local strategies. Different areas will have different priorities, but their plans must identify where they depend on one another and how responsibilities are shared. This is particularly relevant to freight, where services frequently cross administrative boundaries and depend on infrastructure extending well beyond individual regions. A local transport plan cannot deliver its full potential if it ignores the wider network, freight customers or the connections needed to move goods efficiently.
Make the choices explicit
The checklist identifies five key messages for those developing railway strategies. These include starting with outcomes, being clear about priorities and trade-offs, establishing a vision for the future railway, clarifying responsibilities and treating strategies as living plans. The RIA argues that decisions about growth, affordability, capacity and long-term value should be explicit and supported by evidence. For rail freight, that means demonstrating how investment decisions will support demand, improve network capability and provide a credible alternative to road transport.
The document also calls for a clear link between long-term objectives and the services, capabilities and investment required to achieve them. Planning should look across five, 10, 15 and 30-year horizons, rather than concentrating solely on immediate pressures. Freight operators and customers need that longer-term visibility when making commercial decisions about terminals, rolling stock, facilities and supply chains. Without a sufficiently clear direction from government and railway planners, uncertainty over future capacity and infrastructure can undermine investment before projects reach the delivery stage.
Strategies must lead to action
The RIA’s approach places accountability and implementation alongside the development of policy. Strategies should identify who is responsible for delivery, establish clear governance and monitor progress, with assumptions revisited as circumstances change. For freight, this is important because ambitions to transfer goods from road to rail require practical action on infrastructure, network capacity and operational capability. A strategy that recognises freight’s potential but does not identify the necessary interventions risks remaining a statement of intent rather than a basis for change.
The checklist arrives as Great British Railways takes shape and Mayoral Strategic Authorities assume increasingly significant roles in transport planning. The challenge will be to ensure freight is represented consistently as responsibilities evolve, rather than becoming lost between passenger priorities, regional ambitions and national policy. For the supply chain, a coherent and credible approach could provide greater confidence to invest in skills, people and capability. The Railway Industry Association’s message is that strategies must be connected to decisions and delivery, not simply published and left on the shelf.
Industry calls for a coherent approach
“As Great British Railways is created and Mayoral Strategic Authorities are taking on increasingly significant roles, we have a real opportunity to bring the rail industry’s strategies and plans together into one coherent, deliverable system,” said Robert Cook, Railway Industry Association Policy and Public Affairs Director. “Too often, individual documents are produced in isolation, without a clear line of sight between the outcomes we are trying to achieve and the investment needed to deliver them.
“This checklist sets out five simple messages for anyone commissioning, producing or updating a rail strategy: start with outcomes, be honest about priorities and trade-offs, set out a clear vision for the future railway, clarify responsibilities without creating silos, and treat strategies as living plans rather than documents that sit on a shelf. Used early and revisited often, it can help surface gaps and improve alignment before major decisions are taken, giving the supply chain greater confidence to invest in people, skills and capability.”