Developing a technical strategy for rail timetable planning

In May 2018 the British railway industry attempted to implement one of the largest and most complex timetable changes in its recent history. Unfortunately, it did not go according to plan. The change resulted in significant disruption and delays to services for many weeks, which led to a loss of public confidence.

The Office of Rail and Road held an independent inquiry into the May 2018 timetable change to learn lessons from this experience. This review recommended (among other things) that the rail industry should work together to develop and implement a timetable technical strategy to increase the agility of timetable production and the quality of future timetables. The report recommended that Network Rail’s System Operator should coordinate the development of this strategy on behalf of the industry. In January 2020 Steer was commissioned by Network Rail to help deliver this project.

Steer led a large consortium comprising a wide range of disciplines including technology, operations, customer insight, business strategy, and innovation. This team delivered the project through a large number of discrete workstreams, including process mapping, desk research, benchmarking with other countries and industries, requirements development, options evaluation, and the production of the strategy document in a distinctive identity (developed by Steer for this project). These workstreams were supported by an extensive stakeholder engagement exercise that reached out to over 200 individuals, representing a wide cross-section of the rail industry. Steer also commissioned focus groups with passengers and interviews with frontline staff to ensure that every perspective was heard, understood, and used to inform the development of the strategy.

The draft strategy was published for consultation in early July. A final version, which will be issued in the autumn of 2020, will set out a vision and objectives to ensure that, by 2030, the rail industry has the technology, data, processes, and people to deliver world-class timetables.