Rail Reform: Can we move from ‘Lost in Translation’ to a shared language?
One week ago, as the Rail Reform Bill continued its journey through Parliament, Copper Consultancy brought together a group of senior industry leaders at Interchange 26 to ask a difficult question: In reforming the railway, are we leaving the passenger behind?
Chaired by Huw Merriman, former Minister of State for Rail and Chair of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway Partnership Board, our roundtable, “Rail Reform: Lost in Translation”, explored whether there is a gap between government strategy and public understanding.
With the news this week of the government freezing rail fares highlighting the push towards nationalisation and the legal birth of Great British Railways (GBR), the timing of our discussion couldn’t have been more critical.
Here are four key insights from a room that represented the entire rail ecosystem, including Mott MacDonald, WSP, Angel Trains, Taylor Woodrow, Transport for the North, Business LDN, Balfour Beatty Vinci, and SCP Transport.
Outcomes, not org charts
One of the most resonant points from the session was that phrases like “integration of track and train”, and many others used in the industry, is jargon that means nothing to the person standing on the cold platform. To the public, rail reform will be judged on three things. Is it cheaper? Is it reliable? Does it get me where I need to go? If Great British Railways only “tinkers with the inside” to find efficiencies without delivering “quick wins” like tap-and-go ticketing and radical price reform, the transition will be seen as a failure of imagination.
Solving ‘logistics blindness’
We often talk about passengers, but as delegates pointed out, the UK is increasingly “logistics blind.” Rail reform is a golden opportunity to tell the story of freight – not just as trains on tracks, but as a core pillar of our economy. Moving the narrative away from “journey times” and toward “capacity and community opportunity” is essential if we want the public to support the infrastructure hubs and SRFIs needed for a net-zero future.
The power of local integration
The consensus was clear: Rail cannot exist in a vacuum. The “Bee Network” model in Manchester shows what happens when you bring the railway into the local environment. We need to stop seeing stations as transit points and start seeing them as community hubs that link seamlessly with active travel and local transport plans. As Edward Richardson (Programme Director, Business LDN) noted, this connectivity is what ultimately drives the development of new towns and economic growth.
Stability for investment
For the private sector, reform must bring clarity, not just change. Representatives highlighted the need for a clear, long-term electrification strategy, with attendees calling for a business model that looks after the 100,000 people transitioning into Great British Railways. Private expertise and investment are ready to futureproof our assets, but they require a stable “guiding mind” that prioritises performance over politics.
The bottom line
As the group concluded, for too long the industry has done things to people rather than with them.
The “Translation Gap” in rail reform is real, but it isn’t terminal. If we can move away from bureaucratic complexity and toward a human-centric narrative that celebrates rail’s role in our daily lives, we can turn this period of change into a period of genuine public advocacy.
Copper Consultancy have worked on several rail projects over recent years, including HS2, the Transpennine Route Upgrade and Oxford Station – bringing the public along on the journey and communicating opportunity and change is fundamental to the success of new and reformed infrastructure.
Interested in how we can help you navigate the changing landscape of rail reform? Get in touch with Zoe Spring to discuss how Copper Consultancy can support your strategic communications and stakeholder engagement: zoe.spring@copperconsultancy.com