Long-term planning

We're responsible for understanding and shaping what the future of Britain's railway looks like through delivery of long-term plans.

This work is done by dedicated ‘Strategic Network Planning teams’. Their job is to understand;

how the railway contributes to national and regional economic growth and improvements in social well-being
what the railway is capable of and how it delivers a service to passengers and freight users
what the likely changes to demand, passenger needs and patterns of train service will be in the future
what kind of changes to the railway as a whole we should make in future.

Strategic Network Planning work at a local level, with our regions; the industry; from train operators; and transport bodies to provide strategic advice to funders.

Funders use this advice to understand the complexities of the railway and to make informed investment decisions.

These investment decisions could be potential changes required to service specification, the timetable, rolling stock and/or infrastructure. The recommendations focus on the long-term railway – ensuring rail provides socio-economic benefits for passengers, freight-users and the general public.