Network Rail regulation and performance

Network Rail set to start £13m upgrade work on Derbyshire railway

21.01.19: Network Rail are carrying out £13m renewal works on junctions, signalling systems, and passenger access on the Matlock branch line as part of a £200m project to improve the railway in Derbyshire. Ambergate Junction, the point wh...

Network Rail announces final CP6 multimillion-pound contract winners for rail projects in Scotland and North East

17.01.19: Network Rail has announced the winners of its final major multimillion-pound contracts for CP6, worth a total of £470m. Following on for the previous CP6 contracts awarded by Network Rail at the end of last year, worth several billion...

Siemens and Alstom prepared to walk away from merger if EU Commission rejects concessions

17.01.19: Siemens and Alstom will reportedly offer no further concessions to European regulators in their bid to merge their operations and form a European rail champion. The controversial Franco-German rail merger has been heavily criticised and the...

German watchdog raises ‘serious doubts’ over Siemens-Alstom merger in latest blow

15.01.19: Germany’s competition watchdog has raised “serious doubts” over the proposed Siemens-Alstom merger and said its objections still stand despite the concessions offered by the French and German rail companies. A letter seen...

Delays to £68m rail line upgrade to keep Norfolk branch line closed

11.01.19: A Norfolk branch line will remain closer after a major £68m railway upgrade for the line has been delayed. The upgrade project on the line between Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft was due to be completed by 31 March, but this dea...

Network Rail Digital Railway boss David Waboso to retire

08.01.19: The managing director of Network Rail’s Digital Railway, David Waboso, will retire in March. An internal memo from chief executive Andrew Haines said that Waboso was leaving with a “fantastic legacy” and a “clear dir...

Northern owner Deutsche Bahn wants compensation from Network Rail over extensive delays and disruption

07.01.19: Deutsche Bahn has demanded Network Rail pay compensation for the extensive delays in electrifying its under fire Northern rail franchise. First reported in the Telegraph, the parent company of Arriva Rail North, who run the struggling opera...

Network Rail announces winners of multibillion-pound CP6 contracts

20.12.18: Network Rail has awarded one of its largest deals under CP6, with three companies winning multibillion-pound contracts for both renewals and enhancements for the south of England. The contracts, worth a collective £4.4bn, to deliver r...

Network Rail fined £200k after elderly signaller suffers ‘life-changing injuries’ in level crossing

13.12.18: Network Rail has been fined £200,000 after a 65-year-old man suffered life-changing injuries at a level crossing in Kent over three years ago. Sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court, the infrastructure owner was convicted of one offence u...

Consultation confirms public support for new rail link between Heathrow and the west

07.12.18: Plans for a new rail link between Heathrow and the west have been overwhelmingly supported in a new consultation published by Network Rail. The proposals set out a new rail link between the Great Western Main Line and London Heathrow Airpor...

Glaister Report: ORR forces Network Rail to report back on ‘failing’ timetabling process by April

07.12.18: After deciding that Network Rail is breaching its network licence by failing to deliver on its performance obligations, the ORR has ordered the infrastructure owner to publish a plan, by 1 April 2019, outlining a series of major points regarding...

First CP6 contracts awarded by Network Rail in major £645m deal

05.12.18: The first major contracts for CP6 have been awarded by Network Rail, worth a combined £645m. Story Contracting has been announced as the winner of ‘Lot 2,’ which covers renewals and enhancement work in Scotland and is wort...

Grayling ‘should resign’ over ‘appalling’ timetable chaos as MPs call for fare freeze

04.12.18: MPs have demanded a freeze in rail fares and called for the transport secretary to resign over the “chaotic roll-out” of the new railway timetables introduced in May, which hit nearly half of all passenger services up and down the co...

ORR takes formal action against Network Rail over poor performance

29.11.18: The ORR is taking formal action against Network Rail to improve its performance as figures show punctuality and reliability are at their lowest levels since the current five-year control period began. The regulator has issued a Provisional...

New railway technology to save track workers thousands of hours on SWR

27.11.18:  New technology to help carry out overnight and maintenance work is set to be rolled out across the South Western Railway and will save track workers an extra 1,600 hours a year. The railway technology will allow for a more efficient...