October 21st, 2025
The safe and reliable operation of the UK’s rail network depends on more than physical assets — it relies on the skills competency, engagement, and capability development of the people maintaining them. When Network Rail set out to improve the performance of its Drainage and Lineside function, it faced a complex challenge: varying regional practices, evolving competence standards, and the need to modernise how resources were planned and developed across the network.
Drainage and lineside work is essential to rail safety and resilience. Yet it has traditionally been a fragmented function, with variable workforce structures and inconsistent pathways for skills development. Network Rail recognised the need for a consistent approach that would elevate standards, strengthen professional identity, and provide clearer career routes for those in these critical operational roles.
To achieve this, Network Rail partnered with ARUP and Bourton Group to create a national advancement programme. The aim was not only to develop the technical competence of the workforce, but also to build the organisational capability needed to maximise and sustain performance improvement.
Drawing on its deep experience in Organisational Development and Lean operational improvement, Bourton Group designed and delivered a structured change programme that focused on people, process, and culture. This included more than 120 briefings across all levels — ensuring that section managers, planners, and frontline teams understood both the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ behind the changes.
Bourton applied Lean principles such as process mapping, visual management, and role clarity to support cross-functional collaboration and accountability — a consistent approach seen across its other OD programmes.
Central to the programme was the creation of a new Competence Management Standard Index and supporting documentation, including a national Handbook and Career Pathways guide. By working closely with stakeholders across multiple regions, Bourton helped to develop role profiles that aligned expectations and standards nationwide.
A ‘Resource Calculator’ tool, co-developed with specialist partner Cogitare, provided a data-driven way to plan resources more effectively. Based on detailed task-time analysis, the calculator enabled planners to assess workforce needs accurately — a crucial step in ensuring the right people, with the right skills, are available where and when they’re needed.
To embed this capability for the long term, Bourton supported Network Rail’s training catalogue design in partnership with Coventry University. The team conducted a national training needs analysis survey, using the results to shape the future curriculum and pilot courses. Feedback from pilot sessions informed refinements before wider rollout, helping to ensure that learning remained relevant and practical.
Bourton’s pragmatic approach — co-designing with client teams and engaging across regions — created ownership and buy-in. This mirrors the firm’s wider OD philosophy: enabling leaders and teams to own their transformation journey rather than relying on external intervention.
The programme has had lasting operational and cultural benefits.
A unified skills competence development management framework is now embedded across the function.
The Resource Calculator ensures that workforce planning is efficient, evidence-based, and aligned to delivery needs.
The training catalogue enables consistent development of capability, improving safety and compliance.
A shared understanding of professional pathways has elevated the function’s profile across the wider rail community.
By equipping teams with tools, clarity, and confidence, the programme has strengthened operational resilience and positioned the Drainage and Lineside function as a model for capability-led transformation in UK infrastructure.
For Bourton Group, this project demonstrates the value of combining Lean thinking with Organisational Development — not as parallel disciplines, but as complementary enablers of change. The result is not only better performance but also a workforce culture that continues to learn and improve.
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