Improving the condition of the British Network Rail and the reliability of the
train service cannot happen overnight. This
paper shows that a strategic
asset management approach is expected to yield benefits in the form of better asset inspection and remediation regime, improvements in the
day-to-day delivery of timetable, and enhanced understanding of asset degradation and train performance. The paper argues that one of the changes that could make these possible is the return of the maintenance and renewal decision-making to the engineer, a crucial element of the whole scheme.