REBUILD RAIL, REVIVE BRITAIN

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: nov/dec 2025 :: RMTnews 16 It is now clear that rail privatisation has fragmented the industry, created inefficiencies through outsourcing, sub-contracting, and rising transaction costs while Network Rail's private debt further drags down productivity. That is why Great British Railways (GBR) could become a powerful driver of productivity and growth. Expanding the rail network has the triple benefit of improving efficiency, assisting overall public wellbeing and helping to safeguard our environment. RMT’s new report Great British Railways and the Productivity Puzzle outlines the potential of GBR to address Britain's productivity challenges and highlights issues stemming from the legacy of rail privatisation. Ultimately chronic underinvestment by the private sector has led to low productivity and GBR offers an opportunity to mitigate this by boosting high-value manufacturing and creating higher productivity jobs. The rail sector contributes £41 billion to the economy, supports 640,000 jobs, and generates £14.2 billion in tax revenue. Moreover, rail investment has a multiplier effect, generating £2.50 for every £1 spent. GBR could also expand high-productivity train manufacturing, reduce reliance on foreign multinationals, and rebuild domestic manufacturing capacity. Another way GBR could improve productivity is by insourcing renewals work, reducing reliance on low- productivity construction models, and directly managing enhancements and megaprojects. Greater integration is required across GBR operations to reduce wasteful transaction costs. Insourcing work would eliminate profiteering and improve efficiency. Establishing a rolling stock arm would reduce leasing costs and promote UK manufacturing. GBR has the potential to drive higher productivity in the UK economy but must address the inefficiencies caused by privatisation and adopt a more integrated, strategic approach to rail operations and investment. The transition to GBR is a critical opportunity to turn the tide. With the right reforms, GBR could become a powerful driver of UK productivity and economic growth. Rail already contributes an estimated £41 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the national economy, supports 640,000 jobs, and generates £14.2 billion in tax revenue, according to analysis by Oxford Economics. Rail productivity, measured in GVA per worker, is 38 per cent higher than the national average. These figures dismantle the myth that rail is merely a public service expense and instead position it in its rightful place, as a national asset. Flawed productivity measures also encourage cuts instead of investment. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) uses crude input-output metrics that focus on labour costs, obscuring the role of investment and the social and economic impact of rail as a public service.   Yet frontline workers in maintenance and operations have continued to deliver more for less. That is why over 40,000 Network Rail members have now gone into dispute after years of falling real-term wages despite major productivity improvements delivered by staff across the railway. Since 2021, cumulative RPI inflation has soared by approximately 27 per cent but pay settlements for Network REBUILD RAIL, REVIVE BRITAIN RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey makes the case for rebuilding rail to get Britain moving