The Williams-Shapps Plan For Rail

Given our unique insight, we thought it would be useful for our team to analyse some of the opportunities and challenges that probably will lie ahead for rail maintenance organisations as they transition from the present status into the new PSC environment. Our objective assessment is presented here, with some generalisations, and is offered to help rail maintenance organisations ask relevant questions internally, to test their readiness.

The main change will be a drive on improving efficiency and reducing cost, unlike anything seen before. Margins in rail, although not fat, are more generous than in the aviation sector, or bus operators who work on the slimmest of margins. In a tightening commercial landscape, a robust control of costs may well be the only way to make the margins work. To improve efficiency and reduce cost without damaging service availability, enhanced planning and control of maintenance will be required. Planning already happens in rail, but the strongly focussed plan-led approach seen in the bus and aviation sectors will likely be required in the future rail PSC to ensure the firm control of maintenance is achieved.

These changes might sound subtle but are likely to drive the business from the current reactive model to a proactive space. In maintenance, where you have a service target to meet, you can’t manage cost on the day, it must be managed in the future. This will require a cultural shift in the organisation.