About

What is Better Value Rail?

Better Value Rail (BVR) is a joint initiative between the Department for Transport, the Office of Rail and Road, and Network Rail.

The toolkit is aimed at ideas before they become projects. This is usually prior to or at the early stage of developing a Strategic Outline Business Case. Using this toolkit will help you answer some of the key questions in a review of application of the Better Business Case and Green Book published in 2020.

The first issue of the BVR toolkit was released in Summer 2021 and feedback should be sent to the address on the contact page with suggestions for corrections and improvements.

BVR is a set of tools that helps to clarify the objectives of transport projects, helps narrow down the different transport modes that can deliver the objectives, and help build a comprehensive description of the project.
BVR also emphasises a proportionate approach, particularly to the investigation of uncertainties and risks that a project might have.
Building a clear foundation of information is essential in going on to create a solid business case for a project.

The BVR tools are focused on rail based transport modes, but are not limited to mainline rail projects and will be useful to any group or body setting out the case for a rail based transport scheme.

By helping make sure that cost effective projects that deliver value are able to be clearly identified and prioritised the BVR tools can help ensure that we get the best value we can out of the investment in rail projects.

The toolkit is made up of four sections, Strategy, Exploration, Examination, and Culture & Capability.

To help you there is a glossary of the terms and abbreviations used on the site and in the tools.

If you need to get in touch with the Better Value Rail team please use the email address on our contact page.