Business Case: A management tool that records the current state of evidence and thinking concerning the development, approval and implementation of a proposal. It supports the processes of scoping, analysis, appraisal, planning, monitoring, evaluating, approval and implementation of a
proposal and is the repository for the evidence base.
Capital Carbon: GHG emissions and removals associated with the creation and end-of-life treatment of an asset, network or system, and optionally with its maintenance and refurbishment
Carbon: Used as a shorthand for all Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Capital Expenditure (Capex): The costs of the initial purchase of land, infrastructure, systems, equipment and any substantive upgrade or enhancement of those. For railways where vehicles are not leased, the initial purchase may also be part of capital costs.
Carbon Management: Assessment, reduction and removal of greenhouse gas emissions during the planning, optioneering, design, delivery, operation, use, end of life (and beyond) of new, or the management of existing, assets, networks and/or systems
Department for Transport (DfT): The ministerial department that works with agencies and partners to support the transport network. Responsible for planning and investing in transport infrastructure.
Enhancements: Schemes that change network outputs, usually involving construction,
that improve network capacity or capability (e.g. enabling higher speeds or allowing heavier loads) relative to the existing level of network outputs. Usually, outputs are required at specific times (in contrast to most renewals). Network Rail enhancement projects are listed in its Enhancements Delivery Plan which is updated quarterly.
Five Case Model: A systematic framework for the development and presentation of the
business case, comprised of the strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management dimensions of the Case.
Green Book: Guidance issued by HM Treasury on how to appraise policies, programmes and projects. Includes the Five Case Model.
Guide to Railway Investment Projects (GRIP): A Network Rail formal procedure through which every investment project on Network Rail’s network must pass. It consists of a number of stages; at the end of these a review is carried out and if the project cannot meet the pass criteria it is stopped or held until it does. This has now been replaced by the ‘PACE’ process.
Integrated Transport Authority (ITA): Public bodies responsible for planning, providing and promoting public transport in specific areas, normally covering several local authority areas. Set up under Local Transport Act 2008 and include the bodies previously known as Passenger Transport Authorities (PTAs). They have powers to promote and improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of their areas.
Light Rail: The term covers a range of rail based guided transport modes which
generally serve a specific geographic area rather than being a national network. Systems may be completely segregated from other networks and from roads, while others may have connections into other systems, or run in parts on roads – see ‘tramway’. Vehicles are usually electrically powered, and modern systems will offer step-free boarding between vehicle and platforms. Maximum axle loads are usually lower than mainline rail standards. Freight is not usually carried.
Mainline railway: In Great Britain, the standard gauge passenger and freight railway operated by Network Rail, plus the High Speed 1 route.
Metro: A transport system in a city or region, normally capable of moving large numbers of passengers at short headways. Normally do not carry freight services
Minimum Viable Product (MVP): The most pared down proposition that can be delivered to meet the agreed outcomes specified by the client.
Objective: The specific, measurable outcome that will be produced and delivered by a project.
Operational Expenditure (Opex): The ongoing costs of operating and maintenance, including any lease costs of equipment and vehicles.
Optimism Bias: The tendency to be overly optimistic about costs, benefits and timescales. To redress this tendency appraisers should make explicit, empirically based adjustments to the estimates of a project’s costs, benefits and duration.
Order of Magnitude costings (OOM): A broad estimate of the costs of a project to give an indication of scale, for example whether something will cost £100k, £1m, £10m etc. and only estimated to within plus or minus 50% accuracy. NB other bounds such as -25% +75% are also commonly used. These estimates help give initial indications of affordability and potential maximum costs of projects.
Office of Rail and Road (ORR): The independent safety and economic regulator for Britain’s railways and monitor of National Highways. Also regulates the safety of Britain’s metro and tramway systems.
Operational Carbon: Greenhouse gas emissions and removals associated with the operation of an asset, network and/or system required to enable it to operate and deliver its service
Outline Business Case (OBC): The ‘intermediate’ business case and second stage in the development of a project business case, which identifies the option offering best public value, confirms the Deal and affordability, and puts in place the arrangements for successful delivery prior to taking a procurement to the market.
Outcome: Refers to the consequences to society of a change in the level or quality of a service delivered.
Output: This can be a product or service that introduces a change in the level or quality of a service delivered.
Personal Rapid Transit: Systems using small vehicles (generally maximum 6 passengers) providing an ad-hoc on-demand service. Normally electrically powered but this may be with onboard energy storage rather than trackside conductors. Developments in this sector lead to a crossover into autonomous road vehicles.
Project Acceleration in a Controlled Environment (PACE): The PACE Framework replaces GRIP and has been developed in response to Project SPEED and the challenge to significantly reduce the time and cost associated with the development, design, and delivery of Infrastructure Investment projects onto the rail network. The purpose of PACE is to provide a project delivery framework that can be tailored by the project to the individual needs of each project. PACE is designed to maximise value and minimise bureaucracy when applied appropriately.
Promoter: The organisation responsible for identifying the need for a project. They engage with stakeholders and funders to promote the benefits of the scheme.
Responsible Accountable Consulted Informed (RACI):
A role assigning matrix to identify key roles and responsibilities of users against major tasks within a project. It is a visual representation. SPEED Project SPEED for rail is focused on proposals that aim to significantly reduce the time and costs of project delivery.
SPEED: Project SPEED for rail is focused on proposals that aim to significantly reduce the time and costs of project delivery.
Standard Gauge: A standard gauge railway in Great Britain has a track gauge of 1435mm.
Strategic Context: Helps to confirm how a proposal:
- Supports national, regional, local or organisation policies etc.
- Fits with business strategy and plans to achieve goals
- Aligns with other projects and programmes
Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC):
The ‘early’ first stage in the development of a project business case for a significant project, which makes the case for change and appraises the available long list to produce a short list of options.
Strategic Planner: Network Rail Teams who work at a local level with funders, operators, transport bodies and the rest of Network Rail to understand demands, capabilities and potential changes and use this to develop advice to inform investment decisions.
Sub-National Transport Bodies (SNTB): Public bodies with power to develop transport strategies for regions and coordinate delivery of public transport functions across local authorities.
Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG): DfT’s transport appraisal guidance and toolkit. It consists of software tools and guidance on transport modelling and appraisal methods that are applicable for highways and public transport projects. Previously known as WebTAG
Tram-train: A vehicle type that can operate safely on the street running sections
of tramways and on the infrastructure of a mainline railway.
Tramway: A system of transport that uses rail vehicles that travel along public roads. It may also have sections that are tram only. Normally operated on a ‘line of sight’ principle, with speeds not normally over 80kph (50 mph). Tramway vehicles will normally have key differences to mainline rail vehicles, such as braking capability, floor height, and the shrouding of the lower part of the vehicle for public safety.
Ultra Light Rail: A transport mode based on rail vehicles smaller and with lower axle weights than Light Rail. Generally built with lighter standards of infrastructure, allowing more flexibility in locations and lower costs. May have limited passenger capacity compared to light rail, metro, or mainline rail.
Uncertainty: Unmeasured risk where known risks are not yet well enough understood to be estimated in terms of probability or impact andwhere not all risks may be identified and quantified.
User Carbon: Greenhouse gas emissions associated with users’ utilization of an asset, network and/or system, and the service it provides during operation
Whole Life Carbon: Sum of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from all work stages of a project and/or programme of works within the specified boundaries