As part of the government’s mission to increase economic growth, and following a request from HM Treasury, we launched a deep dive review of our Rail Network Investment Framework (RNIF) in Spring 2025. The Framework is our core guidance for supporting third-party and private investment in infrastructure owned or managed by Network Rail.
This work forms part of the Chancellor’s call for economic regulators to consider how they can help promote private investment and support long-term growth in their sectors.
So what is the RNIF? How did we set about reviewing it? And what have we found so far?
What is the RNIF?
ORR’s Rail Network Investment Framework (RNIF) sets out how third parties (including private investors, local authorities and developers) can work with Network Rail and ORR to help fund and deliver infrastructure projects. These range from smaller asset enhancements to larger, more complex schemes such as new stations or depots.
The Framework provides guidance on processes, roles, approvals and includes standard contractual templates designed to support fair and efficient project delivery.
Although the RNIF was last updated in 2022, the investment landscape has continued to evolve. It is especially important to have strong guidance as we move towards a single national owner and operator of infrastructure and passenger train services.
With that in mind, we agreed with HM Treasury that our deep dive review would look at:
What suppliers and investors told us
We launched our review in Spring 2025 and structured it around direct and open engagement with suppliers and investors. We launched a dedicated webpage and stakeholder survey to gather feedback on RNIF usage, sent letters to around 200 stakeholders, and held bilateral meetings with key organisations including Rock Rail, Siemens Mobility, Porterbrook, Equitix, and High Speed 1. We also co-hosted an investor roundtable with the Railway Industry Association (RIA) and presented our work at the RIA Investment Conference, inviting further feedback.
Our engagement with investors and suppliers highlighted that awareness of the Investment Framework is relatively low. This wasn’t raised as a concern with the Framework itself, but rather reflected broader challenges across the rail investment landscape, where entry points can be unclear and the environment is often difficult to navigate.
What we heard consistently was that there is strong appetite to invest in the rail sector. However, several persistent barriers are holding the market back:
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Complex delivery pathways, with uncertainty around planning, approvals, and interfaces with key delivery partners.
We’ve shared these findings with HM Treasury as part of our contribution to the government’s wider investment and growth agenda. This insight is already shaping the next phase of our work and helping to identify where improvements could make the biggest difference.
What’s Next?
We concluded Phase 1 of our project at the end of June – the review and evidence-gathering stage. Based on what we’ve heard from investors, we’re now moving into Phase 2: updating the Investment Framework.
Over the coming months, we’ll be working to:
We’ll also be bringing in an independent consultant to take a closer look at the Industry Risk and Network Rail Fee Funds, making sure they’re still proportionate, fair and not acting as a barrier to investment.
We plan to publish an updated version of the framework by November 2025; one that reflects today’s investment landscape and helps enable the next generation of rail projects.
Find out more…
Private and third-party investment isn’t a replacement for public funding, but it can play an important role in delivering a more modern rail network and supporting economic growth. By listening to the sector and making practical improvements, we’re aiming to make the process of investing in the network clearer, more consistent and more open to innovation.
If you’d like to be involved in the next phase of this work, or just want to learn more about what we’re doing, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected]
