Network Rail regulation and performance

Cornwall train with 14 passengers onboard derailed after track jumped to wrong position, RAIB finds

12.04.19: A train with 14 passengers on board derailed at a Cornish station after the points which allow trains to switch between tracks jumped into the wrong position, the RAIB has found. The passenger train was left straddling between two lines as...

DfT awards East Midlands rail franchise to Abellio

10.04.19: Abellio has won the next East Midlands rail franchise and will take over from Stagecoach in August 2019 until 2027. The DfT announced that the ScotRail operator has been named as the successful bidder “after they presented a strong, c...

Corbyn calls for new electrified West Country rail line bypassing Dawlish

09.04.19: The Labour Party leader has called for a new electrified rail line connecting the West Country with London which will bypass Dawlish. The inland rail line would avoid Dawlish, where the current railway clings to the coast between Plymouth a...

RAIB to investigate lorry’s near miss with train at level crossing

04.04.19: The RAIB has launched an investigation after a passenger train came close to a collision with a lorry that had become trapped at a level crossing. The cement mixer lorry drove onto the crossing at Mucking in Essex just as the barriers began...

ORR approves action improvement plan from Network Rail

03.04.19: An action plan from Network Rail to improve its performance in response to enforcement action taken against it in November last year has been given approval by the ORR. Network Rail has set out how it intends to improve its poor performance...

Network Rail buys up old Croydon sites in plans to fix Britain’s busiest railway bottleneck

02.04.19: Network Rail has bought two old Royal Mail depots and Volkswagen sites next to East Croydon Station as part of its plans to “unblock the London-Brighton railway bottleneck at Croydon.” The purchase of the old Royal Mail building...

Network Rail unveils £2bn CP6 investment for Wales and Borders railway

01.04.19: Plans for a £2bn investment over the next five years across the Wales and Borders have been published by Network Rail. This includes investing £176m on track renewals and refurbishments, £135m to improve signalling in west...

ORR could cut Network Rail managers’ bonuses as new regulatory policies introduced

28.03.19: The ORR is to introduce new regulations to hold Network Rail to account by targeting the areas that have the most serious impact on passengers and funders. The new regulatory policy will be introduced for the start of CP6, and could see sen...

Network Rail to spend £42bn on railway improvements to ‘restore public trust’

28.03.19: Network Rail is to spend £42bn on the railway over the next five years in a bid to improve poor punctuality in “the biggest modernisation of our rail network in over a century.” The arm’s length body has published de...

London mayor calls for government to devolve rail infrastructure powers and funding to TfL

28.03.19: London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for the government to transfer control of rail infrastructure management to TfL and manage its devolved suburban services. Khan said the move would pave the way for a metro-style service in south and south...

‘Unacceptable’: Northern’s extra half-hourly trains from Cheshire to Manchester delayed for second time

27.03.19: The introduction of two additional train services between Cheshire and Manchester every hour has been postponed for the second time, according to the DfT. Northern promised half-hourly train services on the Mid-Cheshire Line in its bid for...

ScotRail submits £18m improvement plan in response to government improvement notice

25.03.19: Under-fire train operator ScotRail has unveiled an £18m remedial plan to recruit more staff and bring in additional high-speed trains in response to the government’s improvement demands last month. Transport Scotland issued Scot...

Major redevelopment plans for Edinburgh Waverley station unveiled

25.03.19: Network Rail has launched a consultation on a multi-million long-term redevelopment plan for Edinburgh’s Waverley Station. With annual passengers expected to double to nearly 50 million, Waverley Station is set to undergo a major reno...

Failings found as passengers on stranded train walk on live track in ‘potentially lethal’ incident, RAIB says

25.03.19: Dozens of passengers left “increasingly uncomfortable” on a stranded train at Lewisham left their train and walked along icy tracks still open to traffic, a “shocking” RAIB report has revealed. The RMT stated it was...

New to-the-minute measures for train punctuality introduced to tackle delays

22.03.19: New measures of train punctuality are to be released by train operators and Network Rail next month in a bid to improve performance. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) announced the new ‘on time’ standards which will record train tim...