Replacing a Critical National Register Without Disruption

The challenge

The safe operation of Britain’s rail infrastructure depends on Network Rail having clear and accurate information about the vehicles operating on the network. The Rail Vehicle Asset Register (RVAR) is a nationally designated register used to manage rail mounted vehicles and on-track plant across Britain’s 20,000-mile rail network.

RVAR holds engineering data, certification records, operational status, residual hazard information and business-critical documentation for over 72,000 vehicles. It’s used by Network Rail, train operating companies, freight operators and infrastructure teams, underpinning critical operational and maintenance activity. As use of the register continued to grow, the legacy platform presented some challenges which made it increasingly difficult to support future requirements:

1. The system was reaching the end of its supported lifecycle and no longer receiving security updates
2. Backup and recovery processes created resilience concerns
3. Users had limited capability to query or interrogate the data efficiently
4. Disparate data structures made reporting increasingly difficult
5. Separating rail vehicle data from on-track plant records for regulatory reporting was becoming increasingly difficult
6. Changes were increasingly complex and costly to implement.

Network Rail needed a robust, future-ready system to strengthen governance, maintain operational continuity and evolve alongside the rail industry.

“This wasn’t introducing new software for additional functionality. We need confidence that the right people can always access the right information and that every change to a vehicle record is visible, controlled and fully auditable. As the rail network faces signification evolution over the next 20 years, we need to know RVAR can evolve with it – and because it’s built on Liberty Create, we know it’s supported, scalable and fit for the future.”

Steve Bell

Head of Digital Delivery, Network Rail

The Solution: Solving the migration challenge

Network Rail’s new Rail Vehicle Asset Register provides a central application designed to provide a single, authoritative view of rail vehicles across the network. Built using Liberty Create, our low‑code solution, and supported by Liberty RPA, our robotic process automation solution, RVAR was developed through Network Rail’s Digital Factory to reflect specific operational requirements and also provide flexibility to evolve over time.

RVAR brings together information for both ‘Network Rail Vehicles’ (NVR) and ‘On‑Track Plant’ (OTP) in one governed register. From a single starting point, with clearly defined permissions, users can now:

1. Search for vehicles quickly using direct lookups and advanced filters
2. View engineering and operational details in one place
3. Access certification records and supporting documentation
4. Add notes and manage updates
5. Track full audit histories for every vehicle record
6. Produce trusted reports and regulatory data extracts on demand
7. Cleanly separate NVR from OTP, enabling confident responses to regulatory requests and future industry changes.

“The real success is that teams trust the system. They can find the information they need quickly, they know the data is reliable and they have confidence the platform can evolve with the railway.”

Julie Henry

Head of Data Delivery, Network Rail

The result

Verified by Network Rail – October 2026

Business impact