Economic Analyst

Network Rail
London - United Kingdom
S: Up to £35,000 per annum

Network Rail is at the heart of revitalising Britain's railway. From the rejuvenation of King's Cross station and the upgrade and expansion of Thameslink, to Europe's largest civil engineering project – Crossrail - we are involved in some of the most ambitious and diverse ventures the UK has ever seen. This will help us deliver the better railway that is vital for the economic prosperity of this country, transforming how people travel and make a massive difference to passengers and freight users right across Britain.

Group Strategy develop medium and long term company strategies and plans to meet the needs of the business. We're responsible for making sure that people in Network Rail understand the regulatory framework, that Network Rail meets our regulatory obligations and develops robust, sustainable deliverables and consistent business plans that reflect our corporate goals.

Brief Description

Group Strategy is responsible for the long term planning of the UK railway infrastructure.

This involves a number of different activities including:
Producing Route Studies to develop an understanding of future passenger and freight trends, and the key requirements of rail users, rail industry funders and Network Rail's customers.
Acting as client and development manager for projects to implement the changes to the capability of the rail network.
Developing Route Specifications to articulate future infrastructure capability requirements to the rest of Network Rail.

Group Strategy is also responsible for liaison with central and local Government with respect to long term planning issues and the development of passenger franchise specifications.

About the role

The Economic Analysis team is Network Rail's centre of expertise in transport markets and economics. It supports all of Network Rail's industry planning activities, working with a wide range of individuals within Network Rail, and from external stakeholder organisations.

Key work includes:

· Improving Network Rail's understanding of the market for passenger travel and rail freight services, and forecasting future passenger and freight demand;
· Developing business cases (also known as economic appraisals) for changes to the rail network, taking into account the financial return of these schemes, as well as the wider benefits to passengers, the environment and the UK economy.

The team was established nine years ago and has grown (to a current size of 16 positions) as demand for the team's skills and expertise has increased.
We have opportunities to join the team as an Economic Analyst. The key responsibility of the role is to support the team's contribution to a variety of industry planning processes including regulatory reviews, Route Studies and the economic appraisal of rail enhancement schemes.

esponsibilities of the Economic Analyst role include:
· Providing bespoke quantitative analysis to support the contribution of the Economic Analysis team to Network Rail's planning activities;
· Providing support to colleagues across Network Rail on economics issues, such as the development of the business case for enhancement schemes;
· Developing bespoke passenger demand forecasting models;
· Developing economic and financial appraisal models.

The role may involve regularly travelling to meet colleagues and customers elsewhere in the UK.

Job summary