Rail restructuring advisory

Halcrow is experienced in advising railway organisations on how best to organise in the face of greater competition.

This is ever important as worldwide railways are coming under increasing pressure to improve financial and operating performance. Competitive threats are growing while governments are seeking to reduce the levels of subsidy provided to railways.

Halcrow believes there are four fundamental elements that are pre-requisites to business success.  Railway organisations must have:

• an understanding with the government of the role the railway should play in the national transportation structure, with clear financial (and other) objectives and an explicit regulatory framework
• an understanding of the competitive environment in which the railway operates
• an understanding of its own business and the needs and aspirations of its customers
• an understanding of its operating costs and pricing options, not just in total, but also in the servicing of individual markets or traffic flows

Halcrow has experience of assisting governments, regulators, railways, funding agencies and private sector interests around the world to improve these fundamentals.

Railways worldwide, operate in a challenging environment, needing to balance market demands, capacity and financial performance. Halcrow provides robust and practical advice to regulators, railways, light rail metros, funders and private sector interests around the world to meet these challenges and improve competitiveness and financial performance.

Our restructuring and commercialisation services cover:

Regulatory and policy frameworks including:

• policy advice and studies
• development of regulatory frameworks
• contract development

Marketing and business planning including:

• market advice and studies
• review of existing strategies and plans
• development of planning processes

Organisational structure and design including:

• alignment of organisations to key processes
• resource evaluation
• implications on safety case

Management information systems including:

• financial accounting systems
• data warehousing and data mining
• resource utilisation systems

Asset condition and management including:

• auditing
• benchmarking
• setting resource baselines