Outcomes
The independent validation produced 56 structured recommendations, organised around the thematic areas identified during assessment. Every recommendation was approved and adopted by the client’s Steering Group — a strong endorsement of both the rigour of the process and the quality of the findings. Subsequent validation cycles were scheduled to provide ongoing assurance as the operating model continued to mature. The client described the project as a resounding success, with many recommendations already implemented.
Background
Developing the operating model for an entirely new railway — one with no legacy infrastructure, no inherited workforce culture, and no existing operational baseline — is a unique and complex undertaking. Over three years, the client had shaped a Target Operating Model outlining the full capability requirements for the Infrastructure Manager role. Given the scale of the programme and the public scrutiny it attracts, internal confidence in the model was not sufficient on its own. An independent, expert challenge was needed to stress-test the TOM, identify gaps or areas requiring acceleration, and chart a path for ongoing validation as the programme progressed.
Curzon Approach
Curzon deployed a red team methodology — drawing on the experience of senior executives from across multiple sectors to conduct a thorough and targeted review of the TOM and all its underpinning artefacts. This cross-sector perspective was deliberate: bringing in thinking from outside the rail industry allowed the team to surface alternative approaches and fresh insights that a purely sector-specific review would not have generated.
A series of immersive workshops and structured engagements with the client’s own subject matter experts shaped a clear set of thematic areas for the assessment to focus on. These themes formed the backbone of our recommendations, ensuring the outputs were coherent and actionable rather than a disconnected list of observations.
Throughout the process, cross-sector benchmarks were used to enrich the findings — giving the client both a clear picture of where the TOM stood relative to best practice, and practical reference points for addressing the recommendations identified.
