Executive Summary

The Sustainable Rail Blueprint is the industry-wide blueprint for realising sustainable rail.

Rail is embarking on transformation. The entire industry has come together to co-create the Blueprint. Its aim is to align efforts, inspire change, and make the railway even more sustainable.

Rail is already the most sustainable mode of long-distance transport for both people and goods. It is responsible for just 1.4% of the UK's transport carbon emissions.

Maximising rail's benefits can help our industry become the backbone of a green transport system and economy.

But we need all parts of the rail industry to rise to the challenge, changing the way we do business to deliver not just net zero, but sustainable benefits for the environment, our local communities and wider society.

The Blueprint presents the industry’s view on ‘what’ needs to be achieved, ‘how’ to deliver it and ‘who’ needs to make a contribution:

• The ‘What’: The Blueprint sets out 11 sustainable rail topics, across emissions, natural environment and social sustainability
• The ‘How’: The Blueprint presents 6 common solutions, identified as the primary enablers of sustainable rail
• The ‘Who’: The Blueprint explores the key roles played across the industry in delivering sustainable rail.