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Thursday 20 Nov 2014

Network Rail publishes its first 'health-check' of its five year funding period 2014-19

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National

A review of Network Rail’s performance in the first six periods of the year (April to September) was published today - its first health-check.

When Network Rail set out its plans for the five year period to 2019 (control period 5, CP5), it committed to deliver a better railway for a better Britain - a railway that will be safer, more reliable, with greater capacity and cheaper to run.

This is an ambitious £38bn plan. It is one that commits the company to deliver a better railway for its passengers and freight customers and better value for the taxpayer.

The first company review of its performance during CP5 found that:-

• Britain's railways remain the safest passenger network in Europe but workforce safety remains an area of concern. The review also reported the company was on course to reduce risk at level crossings at the end of the financial year by 10%
• Passenger train performance is behind plan and the industry is currently around 1% behind its year end target of 91.1%. There are clear improvement strategies in place but these will take time to have an impact on Britain's Network, which is seeing continued growth in passenger numbers
• The review is currently reporting a £40m overspend on the company's overall £7bn annual budget. Forecasts see this rise to around £112m by March. Extra investment in train performance and safety initiatives accounts for a substantial portion

Commenting on the review, and the Office of Rail Regulation’s twice yearly monitor, Mark Carne, chief executive, said: "The railway continues to see strong growth in passenger numbers, however, we know that there are too many passengers that do not get the level of reliability they have a right to expect and that this has a real impact on their daily lives. Increasing capacity on a complex network, at the same time as keeping it running every day, is the challenge we face. We have clear strategies to deliver the improvements required.

Network Rail will publish a transparent, detailed business review every quarter from now on, measuring its performance against key targets. This is aimed at giving more openness, accountability and visibility on its spending and performance.