PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Bespoke project management service tailored to the needs of each individual client.

Project Management

We provide full project management for rail and infrastructure projects of any size and value. Our experience ranges from station facility upgrades at West Midlands Trains to new Maintenance Delivery Units for Network Rail teams. We have won Rail Industry Association awards for our work and our organisation brings over 200 years of combined experience to bear on projects every day.

Keep scrolling to read more or contact us today to learn how we can help you with:

Feasibility studies and optioneering
Management of governance and seeking project funding
Preparation and delivery of works within possessions
Stakeholder management

Feasibility studies and Optioneering

RPS undertakes feasibility studies on behalf of our clients to help make informed decisions that suit the needs of our clients and the travelling public. Usually undertaken in early project stages, this work considers:

The technical options available
Programmes informing milestones
Advantages and disadvantages of each option
Costings from unit rates or bottom-up principles
Next steps required to progress each option

We use this work to inform ‘Option Selection’ with our clients and stakeholders if appropriate. We will determine and prioritise criteria, and ensure all parties understand and feed into the optioneering process.

This demonstrates that an auditable process has been undertaken that allows project delivery arms to move forwards with a solid foundation to invest in detailed design and progress to successful delivery.

Management of Governance and Seeking Funding

We are specialists in seeking and applying for project funding across an array of processes and authorising bodies. These include:

The development and submission of Network Rail ‘Authority Papers’
Direct business case production and submission to the Department for Transport
Submissions to charities for specific-issue funding

We tailor our approach for each of these process, and have successfully secured tens of millions of pounds of work for our clients.

Authority Paper Drafting Service

We offer a full authority paper drafting service, reviews of third party authority papers and specialist training in drafting. Our approach delivers high quality outputs that pass-through Investment Panel right first time, ensuring that in-year spend targets can be achieved and budgets remain consistent.

Preparation and Delivery of Works Within Possessions

Our projects often include working within possessions and blockades. These time and safety-critical ways of working are strictly governed by legislation and regulations such as the Delivering Work Within Possessions standard (NR/L3/INI/CP0064).

We often start preparing for possessions years in advance to book disruptive access with planners and start the ‘T-Minus’ process to communicate plans and co-ordinate our access requirements with others sharing the possession. As we approach delivery, we undertake Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis of our programmes to give us confidence of hand-back on-time, which informs the risk profile of each project.

We ensure all CDM-related documentation has been signed off and approved, with everyone scheduled to be in the right place at the right time. During possessions we report to Route Control on progress against programme and ensure lessons learned are captured.

Stakeholder Management

We prepare and deliver Stakeholder Management Plans for railway schemes, often at stations which are important community locations where multiple stakeholders need to be consulted and informed. These stakeholders can include:

Station User Groups to ensure we meet Disability Discrimination Act compliance
The Railway Heritage Trust and Historic England for listed parts of our railway infrastructure
Local businesses, residences and charities
The emergency services,
Statutory undertakers
Suppliers to the railway

Our approach to stakeholder management is one of openness and collaboration, which ensures that all parties are working together in the best interests of our clients and the railway.