Media centre

Monday 10 Apr 2006

NETWORK RAIL TO RETAIN RESPONSIBILITY FOR RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE IN MERSEYSIDE

Region & Route:

National

Network Rail today confirmed it will not transfer responsibility for the electrified parts of the railway in Mersyside to Merseytravel. Iain Coucher, Network Rail’s Deputy Chief Executive, said: “We believe that the best thing for the rail network in Merseyside is for it to continue to be owned, managed and operated by Network Rail.  This ensures that this section of the rail network, and the employees who work on it, continue to reap the benefits of Network Rail’s strong performance, wide experience, and weighty purchasing power. “We are proud of what we have achieved on the rail network in Merseyside.  In the last three years we have halved the number of delays, and punctuality has risen to around 97% - making Merseyside one of the best performing areas in the country.  And we have done this while significantly reducing the costs of operating, maintaining and renewing the railway”. Network rail has set out the benefits to the rail network in Merseyside of remaining with the company:

• Network Rail is an experienced infrastructure operator with a strong, established management team
• Network Rail has all the necessary systems, processes and equipment to operate, maintain, renew and inspect the network in Merseyside
• Network Rail has a strong safety case
• Network Rail’s purchasing power reaps great economies of scale – and any increase in costs as a result of losing this would have had to be borne by passengers or tax-payers
• Network rail offers unrivalled training and development opportunities for its people
• Retaining the Merseyside rail network avoids a lengthy, risky and expensive transfer of assets
• The Merseyside rail network – under Network Rail’s control – is already one of the best-performing sections of the British railway, with Network Rail-caused delays being cut by half over the past three years, and train punctuality currently running at 97%

  Merseytravel’s proposal for a transfer of the rail assets in Merseyside followed the Government's White Paper last year, which highlighted the need for more effective local decision making on the local network.  The proposal has been the subject of lengthy and detailed discussion between Mersetravel, Network Rail, the DfT and the ORR. Iain Coucher said: “We recognise the need to work more closely with all our partners in Merseyside to improve understanding of the needs of passengers and freight users at a local level.” Network Rail will now take forward with Merseytravel the development of a joint performance improvement plan for the route, a formula for working with train operators that is proving successful elsewhere in the country. The company is also due to submit to ORR a proposed RUS programme, which includes a proposed RUS that would focus specifically on the Merseyside network. Iain Coucher said: “There is much work for us to do on the infrastructure, and there are undoubtedly further opportunities for us to improve the efficiency, capacity and affordability of our combined activities.  We would now like to move forward together to ensure that the people of Merseyside continue to receive a first class service.”