Network Rail monitor

The Network Rail monitor is an important tool we use to hold Network Rail to account. We publish the monitor quarterly. It sets out how we think Network Rail is doing in delivering its obligations to its customers and funders and highlights any areas of concern.

Network Rail monitor publication dates are also available.

The latest monitor is for Q3 2009-10.

• Network Rail monitor Q3 2009-10 (PDF)

A summary for Great Britain follows below. Click on the headings to navigate to the main sections of the publication.

Great Britain summary

Improving customer satisfaction

Responding well to its direct customers (TOCs/FOCs) must be just as important to Network Rail as delivering ‘hard’ regulated outputs. Network Rail has provided initial results from its latest customer survey, carried out in November 2009. These show a significant and welcome improvement in overall satisfaction among passenger TOCs; freight operators remain less satisfied and there is much to do to improve this.

Information to passengers during disruption

The industry’s inability to provide useful information when services are disrupted was exposed again during the winter snow. All parties now recognise the urgent need for improvement and have agreed a joint programme of work through the National Task Force. Network Rail has a key part to play in this. We will want to be satisfied that the programme is comprehensive, robust and properly implemented; we are currently assessing this and will monitor progress closely.

Rapid response to flooding

After serious flooding in November, Network Rail responded magnificently to build a temporary station at Workington. Within ten days of the flood this enabled special train services to reconnect parts of the town cut off by damage to foot and road bridges.

Public Performance Measure (PPM)

The PPM moving annual average (MAA) had reached a record 91.8% after period 9, thanks to best-ever autumn performance. However it deteriorated badly in period 10 as winter weather affected the network. This caused PPM (MAA) to fall to 91.1% at the end of Q3, still 0.3% better than a year ago.

This has cast doubt on the likelihood of all the full-year PPM levels required by the 2008 Periodic Review being achieved.

Cancellations and significant lateness (CaSL)

CaSL remains better than the end-year requirement for the Long Distance and Regional sectors in England and Wales.

However, the London & South East MAA is currently 0.5% worse than the end of year requirement; this figure may improve when the poor performance in the February 2009 snow drops out of the average.

West Coast Main Line

After an encouraging autumn, underlying Virgin Trains performance has deteriorated and is again unsatisfactory, primarily due to delay caused by continued asset failures on the infrastructure. We have called Network Rail to meet us with Virgin Trains; it must convince us that it is taking all reasonable steps to deliver further performance improvement, immediately and throughout 2010-11.

Network Rail delays

After the winter disruption, Network Rail needs three good periods to keep its full-year passenger train delay figure within the regulatory requirement. The MAA of delays to freight services is now well adrift of the end of year requirement.

At the end of February, after completing its own investigations, Network Rail reported to us on its management of performance during the snow. We are now considering this and will take it into account in deciding how we will act, should Network Rail fail to deliver one or more of the full-year requirements.

Network availability - reducing disruption

Disruption to train services from planned engineering work has continued to fall. At the end of Q3 the possession disruption index for passengers was down to 0.63, the level required by the end of the control period (37% below the 2007-08 baseline). The freight index was 0.89 (the requirement is to keep this at or below 1.0).

We believe this largely reflects relatively low current levels of engineering work. Network Rail has now provided an improved plan showing and quantifying how it will meet its obligations throughout CP4. We are assessing this, and seeking the views of the cross-industry Seven Day Railway governance group. We will report our findings in the next monitor.

Developing the network

Network Rail has made reasonable progress. In Q3 the Glasgow-Kilmarnock project and a key turnback facility at Tunbridge Wells were completed on time. Work to increase the loading gauge through a Southampton tunnel made such good progress over Christmas that a second planned blockade may now be avoided. But the delivery challenge continues to grow. Work on projects in the CP4 delivery plan rises to a peak in 2011-12, and to this will be added major new projects such as electrification and Crossrail.

Enhancement projects - quality and whole-life costs

We reported concerns about how Network Rail determined efficient quality standards for enhancements. Studies of selected projects by the independent reporters made recommendations to which the company is responding with new action plans. We will continue to monitor this and commission further project quality reviews.

Power supply assessments for capacity enhancements

We planned to commission the reporter in January to review the status of actions Network Rail agreed to address our concerns about progress with this. We have postponed this as Network Rail admitted that little progress had been made. This is unsatisfactory; timely delivery of capacity enhancements is at increased risk. We have told Network Rail that we need to see significant progress when the reporter makes a further assessment in March 2010.

Thameslink

The independent reporter Nichols is continuing to monitor progress on overall systems integration and is also now focusing on possible risks to delivery of ‘Key Output 1’ in 2011.

All involved are continuing to work tackling cost pressures on the full programme. Network Rail is working on revised plans for ‘Key Output 2’ infrastructure work at London Bridge which improve access through the station, reduce disruption to passengers during construction and provide better value for money.

Anglia power supply upgrade

Last quarter we highlighted concerns about progress with this scheme. We now have assurance that the project is being more robustly managed but will continue to monitor progress closely.

Northern urban centres

Uncertainty about rolling stock plans is still delaying design work for these projects, increasing pressure on cost and schedule. We will hold Network Rail to account for delivering its obligations unless changes are formally agreed.

Investment at stations

There is evidence that works at stations can be done more cheaply and quickly by train operators than by Network Rail, but although Network Rail supports this in principle it is not yet widespread. Working with Network Rail and ATOC we have commissioned a study to investigate barriers to change; this will report in March.

Together with the additional £50m funding for stations recently announced by DfT, supplementing existing CP4 funding including the National Stations Improvement Project, this should lead to more and quicker station improvements, to the benefit of passengers. We will be monitoring to ensure these benefits are realised.

Investment framework

We have approved revised template agreements for third party investment in Network Rail’s infrastructure. These can now be used in England and Wales, and discussions are continuing with Transport Scotland to extend their use to the whole network. We believe these represent a significant improvement for investors: they are clearer and provide stronger incentives for Network Rail with a fairer and more logical balance of risk. We expect they will speed up transactions, reduce transaction and investment costs through greater clarity. We are now consolidating guidance on the process for third party investment and will publish this in March.

Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) programme

In January we approved a revised RUS programme. Information and analysis generated by these strategies is essential to inform the industry planning work being undertaken jointly by Network Rail, ATOC and RFOA for PR13.

In December we wrote to Network Rail asking it to review and, if necessary, amend the East Coast Main Line RUS to take account of planned changes to capacity on the route in CP4 and the anticipated introduction of new ‘super express trains’.

Asset policies

When accepting our PR08 determination, Network Rail asked for time to review its asset policies and submit revised CP4 plans consistent with the funding available. It must demonstrate to our satisfaction that these represent a sustainable approach to managing its assets that will enable it to meet its output commitments in CP4 and beyond. We received updated asset policies at the end of January. We are now reviewing them and holding a series of meetings with Network Rail engineers to ensure that we understand them, before we can decide whether they satisfy the asset management obligations included in the network licence.

Network capability - gauging

Network Rail submitted its gauging strategy in December in part response to our requirement to improve the information provided about network capability to actual and potential customers. Overall we believe the proposed strategy serves the majority of customer requirements. Subject to satisfactory resolution of a few outstanding issues, we have endorsed Network Rail’s strategy. Network Rail must also address other aspects of network capability information which still cause problems for its customers; power supply capability should be a priority.

Maintenance restructuring

For several months we have been reviewing the progress of Network Rail’s maintenance restructuring project (phase 2b2c), to be assured that safety implications of the changes are being well managed.

This project is key to achieving significant cost efficiencies at the same time as improving safety and performance. In our view the core principles of the proposed new structure are sound and appropriate. However we have significant concern about aspects of Network Rail’s plan for implementing the change, and in particular whether it adequately manages risks to safety and train performance. We have written to Network Rail’s chief executive calling for these concerns to be addressed before the company makes the go/no-go decision on the plan.

Asset reliability

Overall asset reliability continues to improve despite the adverse effects of snow in period 10. This has been a major contributor to the overall reduction in delays caused by Network Rail.

European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)

The commissioning of the Cambrian project is still on target for May 2010, following a successful preliminary commissioning phase in February.

Note: we use colour flags to show at a glance our level of concern with an issue:

	Network Rail delivery is satisfactory or good. We have no significant concerns at present.
	Network Rail delivery is currently unsatisfactory and/or we have some concerns about future delivery. We have raised the issue with Network Rail at a working level.
	The issue is subject to special scrutiny, with intensive investigation and enhanced monitoring. We may have discussed potential licence concerns with Network Rail Directors.
	We have major concerns about current and/or future delivery. We are considering, or have already decided to take formal enforcement action.

Network Rail monitor archive

• 2005-2009

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