The government has published proposals for its long-term rail strategy - ACE's Policy Director, Marie-Claude Hemming, delves into the detail. 

Proposals for the long-term future of rail have been published by Government, ahead of the strategy itself.

Prepared to support scrutiny of the Railways Bill in the House of Lords, the paper sets out how Government proposes to shape a 30-year approach to rail. It is not yet the final strategy or a project pipeline, but it gives an important indication of how future investment decisions could be made. 

For the design, engineering and consultancy sector, the message is clear: better rail starts with better decisions earlier. 

Start with the problem 

The Department for Transport (DfT) proposes that Great British Railways (GBR) should first define the strategic problem, then consider operational, asset, rolling stock and digital solutions before developing major infrastructure. That aligns closely with ACE’s focus on designing early, delivering better. 

The value of design is not simply producing a solution. It is bringing the right expertise in early enough to understand the problem, test options and make better decisions. Not every challenge will require a major rail project. The emphasis on considering different interventions first points towards a more whole-system approach to infrastructure investment. 

Maturity and risk matter 

The approach also reinforces the importance of project maturity. If future enhancements are expected to demonstrate value, safety, deliverability and alignment with national and local priorities, GBR will need good information and evidence before major investment decisions are made. 

Our work with the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) on infrastructure risk has highlighted the same principle: risk should inform decisions from the outset, rather than simply being transferred at procurement. 

Understanding what is known, what remains uncertain and who is best placed to manage the risk can help avoid redesign, claims and delay. 

And maturity cannot be a one-off test. The proposed approach points to projects being reviewed as circumstances, evidence and priorities change. That creates a stronger case for maintaining good information and design evidence throughout the life of a project. 

Value is about more than the railway 

The proposals recognise that rail investment needs to support economic growth, housing, regeneration, freight, connectivity and environmental objectives, while better understanding whole-industry costs and benefits. 

That requires expertise across engineering, transport planning, economics, environment, digital and design. 

There is also a clear role for resilience and nature. The strategy recognises the need to adapt the railway to more extreme weather and better reflect environmental sustainability in business-as-usual decisions. That aligns with ACE’s call for nature to be treated as infrastructure and integrated from the outset. 

Technology will also shape the railway over the next 30 years, from digital asset management to AI and network optimisation. Our sector therefore has an important role in ensuring these opportunities are considered early and built into long-term decisions. 

The emphasis on place also reinforces the importance of devolution. GBR will need to connect national priorities with local economic and transport needs. Smaller interventions, digital technology and asset management could also create opportunities for specialist and regional firms, including SMEs, depending on how procurement and supply chains are structured. 

Finance and delivery matter too 

A financially sustainable railway will require difficult choices between maintaining and renewing the existing network and investing in new infrastructure. 

The proposed focus on whole-industry costs and benefits should help make those trade-offs clearer. The paper also expects GBR to work with partners to attract private investment. 

This reinforces a point from ACE’s work on infrastructure finance: private capital is only part of the answer. Projects need to be well defined, sufficiently mature, supported by credible long-term plans and structured around risks investors can understand. 

The paper is not the finished strategy. That matters. 

The framework is being shaped now, creating an opportunity for our sector to bring its experience to the table. The test will be whether the final strategy creates a clear line from long-term priorities through funding and planning to a mature, deliverable and visible pipeline, supported by the capability and supply chain needed to deliver it. 

For ACE members, that means an opportunity not simply to deliver more projects, but to help shape what gets developed, how it is designed, how risk is managed and when it is ready for procurement. 

The future railway does not just need a pipeline of projects. It needs a pipeline of better decisions. 

And that is exactly where design, engineering and consultancy can make a difference. 

Click here to read the full Long-Term Rail Strategy House of Lords Briefing Paper.