HS2

20.09.16

Network Rail abandons plans to privatise telecoms network

Network Rail’s telecoms network has been excluded from its planned sale of assets, the infrastructure owner has confirmed.

Network Rail announced in March that it is considering selling off a wide range of assets, including its fibre optic and telecoms network, which delivers voice, data, video and broadband services to enable communication between trains and maintenance teams.

It is also considering finding a buyer for its electrical and land assets.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We started to look at options to divest of spare capacity in the telecoms network. There are now no immediate plans to progress this as we focus on other assets under consideration.”

They added that the sales were not part of plans to generate £1.8bn to fund the Rail Upgrade Plan, an ambitious programme of improvements currently being promoted in the ‘Britain Runs on Rail’ campaign.

Network Rail is facing significant funding shortfalls, with its debt due to reach £50bn by the end of the decade.

In August, Network Rail announced that it had appointed Neil Sachdev and Steve Smith as non-executive directors with responsibility for selling non-core assets through the recently-created Property board.

It has also appointed Citigroup to assess options regarding the sale of 18 major stations, including London Waterloo, Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street, with a report expected back by the end of the year. The proposals are opposed by anti-privatisation group We Own It.

Have you got a story to tell? Would you like to become an RTM columnist? If so, click here.

Comments

Ian Dinmore   20/09/2016 at 12:29

It's good news that NR will not now sell of their telecom assets, as the spare capacity has the potential to bring in an annual lease revenue from the 3rd party telecom operators and cable TV companies who are clamouring for additional capacity - that could be a very handy little annual fill-up for NR's hard budget management?

John Anderson   20/09/2016 at 15:58

Fortunately, someone with a functioning brain and an understanding that flogging vital assets isn't the brilliant idea that the Tory idiots would have us believe, must have remembered the utter farce which resulted from the last sell off of the Telecoms assets (the organisation is still in the recovery process from that mess).

Tothehills   21/09/2016 at 09:44

Given the move to ETCS, where telecoms is an integral part, this is definitely the right decision. My concern is that signalling systems structures are going to change very dramatically and NR's Fault finding measures are not up to it. As for John Anderson comment - I can remember when BT was state owned and state the customer service of the PO was awful. my parents had to wait 6 years for a phone line to be installed in the 70's. While BT customer services are not the best, they are still a billion times better than the abysmal self-serving quality of the 60's and 70's.

John Anderson   21/09/2016 at 11:04

FYI Tothehills, I wasn't referring to BT, I was referring to the BRT / Racal Telecom / Thales / Global Crossing / Level 3 farce after rail privatisation, which is still having a negative impact on the railway. However, I wouldn't say that BT is anything to boast about in terms of private sector 'success', still having a monopoly of physical service provision via Openreach for those of us located anywhere other than city centres. The 70s is really not a valid comparison now given advances in technology. I would suggest over 4 months to fix a simple copper cable fault just last year, with BT Retail and BT Openreach continually passing the buck between each other, and total indifference from the higher echelons when contacted, is a better indicator of the 'benefits' of the private sector.

Tothe Hills   22/09/2016 at 09:49

To JA, now I am with you. Agree with you that BT are nowhere near perfect, I have been advised to not go with them by one of their employees! Bizarrely though, they own Plusnet which has the best rating in the industry (though I think they are about to test my patience).

Lutz   27/09/2016 at 22:44

So if there is marketable spare capacity on the system, why has there been no significant take-up of that capacity by data carriers? Perhaps because the system is of no value to modern carrier operations?

Add your comment

rail technology magazine tv

more videos >

latest rail news

HS2 Ltd: Five tech firms join Innovation Accelerator initiative

11/09/2020HS2 Ltd: Five tech firms join Innovation Accelerator initiative

HS2 Ltd have announced today (11 Sept) the first five revolutionary tech firms that will join HS2 Ltd’s Innovation Accelerator programme. ... more >
Network Rail publish Decarbonisation Plan

11/09/2020Network Rail publish Decarbonisation Plan

Network Rail have released their interim Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy, illustrating its preliminary recommendations for decarbonisin... more >
Trains kept moving by AWC despite damaged overhead wires

11/09/2020Trains kept moving by AWC despite damaged overhead wires

Avanti West Coast have taken an unlikely option to allow their timetable to run, without delays, despite damaged overhead wires. The operato... more >

last word

Encouraging youngsters to be safe on the railway

Encouraging youngsters to be safe on the railway

This summer, Arriva Group's CrossCountry and the Scout Association joined to launch a new partnership to promote rail safety among young people. Chris Leech MBE, business community manager at the... more > more last word articles >

'the sleepers' daily blog

On the right track, Sulzer is awarded RISAS accreditation for Nottingham Service Centre

29/06/2020On the right track, Sulzer is awarded RISAS accreditation for Nottingham Service Centre

Following an independent audit, Sulzer’s Nottingham Service Centre has been accepted as part of the rail industry supplier approval scheme (RISAS). The accreditation reinforces the high-quality standards that are maintained by Sulzer’s network of independent repair facilities across the UK and further afield in its global network. ... more >
read more blog posts from 'the sleeper' >

comment

The challenge of completing Crossrail

05/07/2019The challenge of completing Crossrail

With a new plan now in place to deliver Crossrail, Hedley Ayres, National Audit Office manager, major projects and programmes, takes a look at ho... more >
Preparing the industry to deliver trains for the future

04/07/2019Preparing the industry to deliver trains for the future

The move to decarbonise the rail network involves shifting to cleaner modes of traction by 2050. David Clarke, technical director at the Railway ... more >
Sunshine future beckons for South Wales Railways, says 10:10 Climate Action’s Leo Murray

02/07/2019Sunshine future beckons for South Wales Railways, says 10:10 Climate Action’s Leo Murray

Smart electrification is the way to boost clean energy resources, argues Leo Murray, director at 10:10 Climate Action. Contractors are clear... more >
Ambition doesn’t have to be expensive, says Midland Connect's Maria Machancoses

02/07/2019Ambition doesn’t have to be expensive, says Midland Connect's Maria Machancoses

The TCR Midlands conference is only days away and tickets are going fast for the sector event of the year at the Vox Conference Centre in Birming... more >

rail industry focus

View all News

interviews

Andrew Haines, CE of Network Rail, tells BBC News his organisation could issue future rail franchises

24/06/2019Andrew Haines, CE of Network Rail, tells BBC News his organisation could issue future rail franchises

Andrew Haines, the Chief Executive of Network Rail, has told the Today programme on Radio 4's BBC’s flagship news programme that he wo... more >