Losing GRIP

The railway’s long-established and complex process by which the railway manages and controls projects is being axed.

GRIP (Governance for

Railway Investment Projects) is an eight-stage routine that can take years, with each phase completed before the following one starts.

Network Rail Chief Executive Andrew Haines told the RIA conference: “If it is used properly, it works. But it is rarely used properly, so it’s not fit for purpose.

“We have cultivated a whole generation of people who apply it mechanically. And that’s why it is not fit. It is costing money and time. We are replacing it in 2021.”