ORR's national rail review Q2 2008-09: Network Rail must deliver on its engineering projects

1 December 2008
ORR/34/08

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) wants to be assured that Network Rail is prepared for an intensive plan of engineering work over the next month, and that works will be completed on time.

In its national rail review published today, the regulator highlights the magnitude of works required to get the west coast main line project completed, as well as the extensive plan of works over the Christmas and New Year period. It also reminds the company of its obligation to comply with the order issued earlier in the year to address the failings in the way it carries out engineering projects.

Bill Emery, ORR chief executive, said: “Engineering work on the railways is vital in order to maintain the network and to bring about the improvements to capacity, performance and safety that rail travellers expect. But Network Rail knows it is required to reduce the amount of disruption caused by its engineering projects, and avoid the sort of overruns we saw last year.

“Passengers and freight users alike will shortly be able to see the improvements brought about by the long-running work on the west coast main line. By finishing this work to the latest agreed plan, Network Rail will show that it has responded positively to the challenges posed by this programme. It can further help re-establish public confidence in its work by completing its Christmas engineering plans on time.”

ORR’s national rail review gives an outline of current trends in the UK rail freight sector, and despite the recent challenging conditions, there is a positive outlook; particularly following ORR’s recent determinations of access charges and output obligations for Network Rail. It also highlights research indicating a successful introduction of the Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations (ROGS) – the new health and safety regime for the railways.

Commenting on the research, Bill Emery said: “The new legislation is far less bureaucratic, and greater emphasis is placed on the industry. Each duty holder is able to take a more flexible approach to safety management by setting out at a high level how it intends to move forward and then delivering this.”

ORR’s Network Rail monitor, also published today, reveals performance figures at record levels. The Q2 (22 June to 13 September) 2008 figures for Great Britain show:

• Performance and delay minutes: the public performance measure (PPM) at the end of Q2 was 90.5%. This is above the industry target of 90.1% and the highest level since the measure was introduced. At Q2, Network Rail is on course to achieve its target of delay minutes, which currently stands at 3.84 million, 9.8% lower than at the same point last year.
• Safety: safety risks continue to be managed to maintain the all time low position recorded in Q4 2007-08.
• Infrastructure assets: overall infrastructure reliability is still improving, with the performance of track assets showing the most notable improvement. Assets are failing less frequently, and the overall level of delays caused by infrastructure continues to fall.
• Network Rail’s finances: up to the end of Q2 Network Rail continued to outperform its budget.

The Q2 (22 June to 13 September) 2008 figures for Scotland show:

• Performance: PPM for Scotland is at 91% which is an improvement of 1.6% over Q2 last year Network Rail was well ahead of both regulatory and business plan targets for Q2.
• Infrastructure assets: The trend of improving asset reliability is matched in Scotland, as failures were 7% less than last year. However, Scotland seems to be the only part of the network where Network Rail is not succeeding in reducing the number of track faults.
• Expenditure: The total expenditure for Q2 was £10m (8.3%) lower than budget, and the year-to-date expenditure was £18m (£7.5m) below budget.

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