CIP partners from the rail sector will advise on the optimum development of the rail network taking into account factors of economic and social development

1. Dr Geoffrey Clements
Chairman, Commonwealth Infrastructure Partners
2019
Railways
Creating modern, integrated railway
infrastructure

2. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
The evolution of railway networks in the 21st
century
• The functionality of rail networks has been transformed in the 21st
century
• Early rail networks were stand-alone transport routes for
passengers and freight
• Often they did not integrate with
o other elements of the transport network
o other key infrastructure sectors

3. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
Early redundancy in the network
• Early organic growth of the rail network led to inefficiencies and
redundancy
• Companies sometimes competed over the same routes
• There was often a lack of forward planning
oSome routes became over-saturated
oOthers were under-used

4. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure

5. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
20th century challenges
• Rail networks often failed to create effective hubs for freight
transport
• And railways lacked good integration with the fast-growing road
network
• Road was favoured over rail for freight and commercial transport
• As a result, rail routes became non-viable and some were closed

6. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
Short-sighted decisions
• A notable example occurred in the 1960s in Britain
• One third of the rail network was closed and removed in the
controversial Beeching reforms The Beeching cuts failed to predict
and anticipate future trends
• They also failed to make the railways profitable
• Roads became overcrowded
• There were unforeseen wider social and economic consequences

7. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure

8. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
Consequences
• Decades later, the closed lines would have made a valuable
contribution
oto logistics and the economy
• Some lines are even being restored
• 20th century mistakes give important lessons for the 21st century

9. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
Critical factors for development and
modernisation of a rail network
• Reconfiguring a rail network requires forward planning to cover many
decades in the future
• An effective and efficient rail network must be fully integrated with all
other elements of transport infrastructure
o including roads, ports, airports and inland waterways
• High speed networks must integrate with the older conventional
network
• With increased density of traffic, the integration of freight and
passenger services becomes even more critical

10. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure

11. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
CIP advisory services for the rail sector
CIP partners can provide a spectrum of advisory services for the rail
sector including:
• Strategic planning
• engineering best practice
• Financial & commercial structures
• Public Private Partnerships
• integration with other elements of the transport network
• integration with
o urban development
o industrial zones
o infrastructure development

12. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
Experience-based services
CIP and its partners can draw on their experience with rail systems
in Europe for
• upgrading existing rail networks
• total system engineering for new high-speed networks
• integrating high-speed rail with existing networks
• integrating freight & passenger services
• integrating rail, road, air and sea transport

13. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
CIP partners from the rail sector will advise on
the optimum development of the rail network
taking into account factors of economic and
social development

14. Railways: Creating modern, integrated railway infrastructure
© 2019, Commonwealth Infrastructure Partners, www.commip.org
Thank you
geoffrey.clements@commip.org