ORR assessment of Network Rail’s performance – good progress continues to be made although some areas require continued management attention
29 September 2006
ORR/29/06
In its third published annual statement on Network Rail, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) today looks at how the infrastructure company is operating, maintaining, renewing and developing the mainline rail network.
The assessment covers the period from April 2005 to March 2006. Bill Emery, ORR Chief Executive, said: “Our assessment concludes that Network Rail has continued to make good progress with managing the network. Two years into the current control period, it is well on the way to achieving the targets laid down in the access charges review in 2003 (ACR2003). There are, however, areas that require continued management attention.
“In particular, the company has achieved significant further reductions in train delays caused by infrastructure problems, at the same time as supporting more traffic on the network. However, we note that this improvement has not been uniform across the country, and we will be expecting Network Rail to address regional and local problems during the current year.”
Safety performance improved across many aspects of Network Rail's business, although the company did not achieve all of its targets.
Network Rail’s net debt and expenditure at 31 March 2006 were both significantly lower than expected, mainly due to additional unit cost efficiencies beyond those assumed in ACR2003.
There has been a steady improvement in network condition, although there are local variations. ORR notes that the early gains from taking direct responsibility for maintenance have now been consolidated, and that achieving further improvements in the reliability of the infrastructure will provide a challenge for Network Rail.
Notes to editors
- The assessment covers the financial year from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006 and follows monitoring and analysis by ORR of Network Rail’s performance throughout the year and assessment of Network Rail‘s annual return and the audit of it by independent regulatory reporters.
- The annual assessment of Network Rail is available from the ORR website at
http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/302.pdf.
Press enquiries
ORR Press Office – 020 7282 2188/2007
