Network Rail regulation and performance

RAIB calls for safety review after passenger died leaning out of carriage window

25.05.17: Network Rail and operators have been told to improve their safety standards and data sharing after a passenger was killed last year when they stuck their head out of a train carriage.   The incident involved a passenger on the Gatwick...

Cancelled or delayed trains hit national 14-year record high

15.05.17: The proportion of trains cancelled or significantly late (CaSL) in the last quarter of 2016-17 was the highest-ever nationally since 2002-03 and the highest in London and the south-east sector (LSE) for over 15 years, ORR figures have revealed. ...

After over two years at the bottom, GTR no longer worst-performing TOC

09.05.17: After over two years of coming at the bottom of performance tables for operator punctuality, especially since its absorption of the entire TSGN franchise, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is finally in the clear. In the public performance mea...

RSSB publishes ‘technology roadmap’ to increase capacity on railway

28.04.17: A new strategy designed to increase the capacity of the railway by running trains closer together has been launched by the RSSB. This includes developing a ‘technology roadmap’ for the closer running of trains and also the ident...

ORR to request process for improving NR route risk management

11.04.17: The ORR is to request that Network Rail puts in place a process to improve risk management at a local level across all its devolved routes, ensuring that any changes occur safely and in compliance with health and safety law, its business plan fo...

Over 40% of TOCs see rise in cancelled or significantly late trains in period 13

07.04.17: Almost 43% of TOCs saw a rise in the number of services that were cancelled or arrived at their terminating station more than 30 minutes late, Network Rail’s latest public performance measure (PPM) has revealed – a continuing trend f...

ORR publishes new safety guidelines for DCO trains

05.04.17: New safety principles on driver-controlled operation (DCO) have been published today by the ORR which establish a standard for train companies to adhere to in rolling out the measure. The guidelines set out six high-level principles for TOC...

NR confirms cost-cutting plans, but claims safety-critical jobs will not be lost

03.04.17: Network Rail is currently preparing for a wave of cuts that could see 1,000 jobs axed, two unions have warned this week. In a statement sent to RTM, however, the infrastructure owner dismissed the claims as “scaremongering”, arg...

Strong National Systems Operator needed to counter route devo risks

23.03.17: Engagement between Network Rail (NR), train operators and passengers must be “hardwired” into the periodic review process so that NR’s future business planning with regards to route devolution is driven by passenger concerns, J...

Hendy calls on industry to get behind Hansford Review into rail contestability

17.03.17: Sir Peter Hendy, chairman of Network Rail, has launched a consultation for the Hansford Review this week, calling on industry leaders to back the work of the review. The event, which took place on 15 March, was held at the Institute of Civi...

Two in five TOCs record significant delays on over 5% of services

14.03.17: Almost 40% of operators in England and Wales have recorded significant delays of over half an hour, or cancellation altogether, on 5% or more of their services in the latest period, Network Rail figures have shown. Statistics for period 12...

NR confirms route devolution and new Western supervisory board

23.02.17: Network Rail has today formally announced that significant powers and decision-making for routes have already been devolved to a local level. Speaking in its first report on progress since the publication of its transformation Plan, ‘...

Achieving efficiency through standards

17.01.17: Vaibhav Puri, head of standards policy at the RSSB, attempts to bust the myths around standards, and argues that they will be vital to the trading relationship of the rail industry and its supply chain in a post-Brexit world. You could be f...

Delivering on route devolution

17.01.17: At RTM’s recent Northern Powerhouse Rail Conference, Andy Haynes, Network Rail’s contracts and procurement director, explained the infrastructure owner’s decision to establish eight devolved routes, each with a managing directo...

Professor Peter Hansford to chair Network Rail competition review

07.12.16: Professor Peter Hansford has been named as the chair of Network Rail’s new competition and contestability review. The review, which will look at alternative methods for the organisation to complete projects, will begin its work immedi...