Rail industry suffers from declines in demand, revenue and productivity as a result of Covid-19, according to a new impact survey from the Rail Supply Group.
As would be expected due to passengers being told to avoid public transport and stay at home during the pandemic lockdown, four in five organisations in the rail supply sector say their revenue has declined compared with pre-virus levels, with falls of 79% on average.
Declines of over 50% were also seen across demand, productivity, access to resources, the availability for employees to work and confidence in supply chains.
Philip Hoare, Chair of the Rail Supply Group and President of Atkins, said in the report: “It’s clear to see that the rail supply chain has been hit hard by the effects of Coronavirus with organisations of all sizes seeing declines in revenue, demand and productivity.
“What also shows is the determination and resilience of the industry to work hard and adapt to the current situation, introducing and adopting new working practices and business plans.”
Hoare said that while confidence levels in surviving the crisis remain optimistic, there are strong messages around the need for greater certainty in areas such as cash flow, immediate payment terms and greater visibility of a work pipeline.
He said: “The majority of organisations anticipate lack of demand and cash flow being significant barriers for their recovery.
“It is clear, for optimism to remain, swift action is needed. Time is not on our side, with confidence falling the longer the impact continues. Which is why the results are now being used to inform our response to managing the coronavirus emergency on behalf of the rail sector’s supply industry.”
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