{"id":85591,"date":"2017-10-20T14:18:40","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T14:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=d44f81b9a723555cf1569a703491fd04"},"modified":"2017-10-20T14:18:40","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T14:18:40","slug":"speech-challenges-and-opportunities-facing-the-uk-rail-supply-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=85591","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Challenges and opportunities facing the UK rail supply chain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Introduction<\/h2>\n

Thank you, David Begg<\/p>\n

It is a pleasure to speak this morning. And it is a particular pleasure to see our country\u2019s great rail supply chain so well represented.<\/p>\n

A time of challenge and opportunity<\/h2>\n

Now, if I was to try and summarise what the government\u2019s rail policies mean for the rail supply chain I would say that this is a time of opportunity.<\/p>\n

But also a time of challenge.<\/p>\n

It is a time of opportunity because of the way the numbers of those using our railways have grown.<\/p>\n

In almost 25 years since privatisation, customer numbers have more than doubled.<\/p>\n

While rail freight has grown by 75%.<\/p>\n

More people are using our railways than in any year since the 1920s.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019re responding to that record demand with record investment.<\/p>\n

Last week we announced the next round of rail funding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Between 2019 and 2024, we\u2019ll spend around \u00a348 billion to improve and maintain the network.<\/p>\n

That maintenance is important.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve increased the focus on renewals, to provide passengers with better reliability and punctuality<\/p>\n

And this funding comes on top of record rail funding over the past 5 years as the government delivered the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just the money we\u2019re delivering.<\/p>\n

Last week we announced that there will also be a new funding process for major upgrades and enhancements which will provide more rigour in investment decisions to make sure public spending best meets the needs of passengers and freight.<\/p>\n

This is recognition of the vital importance of working closely with the industry and the rail supply chain.<\/p>\n

All this investment is an opportunity to restore Britain\u2019s place in the world as a leading rail-building nation.<\/p>\n

And an opportunity to deliver a railway fit for the future.<\/p>\n

Time of challenge<\/h2>\n

But as well as being a time of opportunity, we must also recognise that this is a time of challenge, too.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s because we\u2019re attempting work of a complexity and scale unseen in a century.<\/p>\n

And as a result, our railway is changing.<\/p>\n

We are building new stations and refurbishing old ones.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re getting Crossrail ready to open.<\/p>\n

And we are bringing thousands of new train carriages into service.<\/p>\n

And on top of all that, we\u2019ve begun the groundwork for building HS2<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

A year ago, the HS2<\/abbr> Bill for Phase One – the stretch from Birmingham to London – was a concept that had yet to be approved by parliament.<\/p>\n

The route for much of the second phase of HS2<\/abbr> – from Crewe to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds – had yet to be announced.<\/p>\n

The procurement for the main engineering works, the rolling stock, and the franchise for operating the railway – all had yet to be triggered.<\/p>\n

A year ago, HS2<\/abbr> was still in planning.<\/p>\n

A distinct, stand-alone project.<\/p>\n

But things have moved on.<\/p>\n

Those plans are now being implemented.<\/p>\n

On sites up and down the route, the enabling works are underway.<\/p>\n

We have awarded the engineering contracts.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve launched the competition to design, build and maintain HS2<\/abbr>\u2019s trains.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve begun the utility diversions, land clearance and environmental surveys.<\/p>\n

We have announced our route for sections from Crewe to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds.<\/p>\n

By the end of this year, we\u2019ll deposit the bill for the stretch of track beyond Birmingham and on to Crewe.<\/p>\n

And I have added the HS2<\/abbr> project to my responsibility for the rail industry.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019re seeing the start of the integration of HS2<\/abbr> into the existing network.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s an important development for the whole industry.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to start thinking of HS2<\/abbr> not as a railway apart.<\/p>\n

Or as some kind of better, faster alternative to the classic rail network.<\/p>\n

But rather as an expansion and enhancement of the existing network.<\/p>\n

The greatest for a hundred years.<\/p>\n

And that, naturally, has implications.<\/p>\n

HS2<\/abbr> will inject greater competition into this industry.<\/p>\n

It will give greater options for how we use the existing railway, providing more space for freight and local stopping trains.<\/p>\n

And it will enhance the image of rail in this country.<\/p>\n

None of this progress could have been achieved without our rail supply chain – many of whom are here this morning.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s because of this supply chain that we have the confidence to press ahead with plans such as HS2<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

But you will know, as I do, that we can and must make the rail supply chain stronger still.<\/p>\n

In many cases, we\u2019re making good progress on improving capability.<\/p>\n

Our Infrastructure skills strategy<\/a>, for example, sets out a plan to get an extra 30,000 apprentices working in transport to help deliver \u00a360 billion of transport investment up to 2020.<\/p>\n

But the best, most effective and most far-reaching changes are always those led by the industry itself.<\/p>\n

And that is why I was so glad to see the Rail Supply Group publish its sector strategy last year.<\/p>\n

The strategy means that, for the first time, the rail supply chain has a common plan for how it will grow in numbers, productivity and expertise.<\/p>\n

A plan for how, by 2025, the industry will:<\/p>\n