Opened the debate
The Strategy establishes a long-term framework for Great British Railways to plan and deliver rolling stock and infrastructure, focusing on integrated decision-making, clearer priorities, and a coordinated pipeline of activity. This will secure better outcomes for passengers and taxpayers, enhance the rail supply chain's confidence to invest, innovate, and create skilled jobs. It sets a whole-system approach to decisions about passenger trains and their supporting infrastructure, with a focus on a smaller number of nationally defined fleet families to improve compatibility and capability across the network. The Strategy also accelerates progress towards more accessible trains, supports a lower-carbon railway, and improves local air quality and reduces noise. It introduces a new approach to fleet ownership and financing, providing clarity for UK-based manufacturers and suppliers, and includes a Fleet and Infrastructure Plan to coordinate rolling stock and related infrastructure activity.