Britain’s rail industry is strengthening its response to climate change, with new analysis showing a significant uplift in sector-wide preparedness following the UK’s hottest and sunniest summer on record.
With extreme weather placing growing pressure on national infrastructure, the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) has, for the third year running, worked with Climate Sense to complete a cross-industry assessment of climate resilience. The study uses a bespoke climate capacity diagnosis and development tool designed specifically for the railway.
The latest results point to a sharp improvement in the industry’s adaptive capacity, defined as the ability of organisations to adjust, respond and evolve in the face of climate risks. All 51 participating organisations are now at, or close to, Response Level 3, described as efficient management. This represents an increase of more than 50% in sector-wide climate resilience activity compared with 2023.
The progress has been driven by the work of the Climate Change Adaptation Working Group and reflects a more coordinated, consistent approach across the industry. Key developments include the introduction of unified climate scenarios for rail, the embedding of climate adaptation into procurement and delivery processes, and faster learning through collaboration and the sharing of best practice.
Samuel Jones, RSSB environment specialist, said:
“This year’s results clearly demonstrate the rail sector’s commitment to building long-term resilience in the face of accelerating climate risks. By embedding adaptation into every aspect of operations and fostering a culture of learning and innovation, we are ensuring that our rail network remains robust and responsive to future challenges.
“The progress seen to date is a testament to the sector’s collaborative spirit and determination to lead on climate adaptation. We encourage more organisations across the rail industry to join this programme in 2026 and help drive even greater resilience for the future.”
Looking ahead, RSSB is aiming to maintain momentum and accelerate progress further in 2026. This includes establishing a suite of Climate Change Agreement metrics to support consistent performance measurement against agreed industry objectives, helping organisations better understand and evidence their adaptation efforts.
RSSB is also supporting rail organisations in developing weather resilience and climate adaptation strategies, with its Weather Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation strategy guidance already being used to inform planning and decision-making. Alongside this, the Climate Change Adaptation Working Group will continue to provide a forum for collaboration, shared learning and coordinated action across the sector.
Organisations that take part in the assessment receive a tailored climate capacity report, clear and prioritised recommendations, benchmarking against national rail averages, and the ability to track progress year on year. Participants also gain opportunities to collaborate with peers on practical climate resilience solutions.
As climate risks intensify, the findings underline how coordinated action across Britain’s rail industry is translating into measurable improvements, helping to ensure the network remains safe, reliable and resilient in the decades ahead.
