02.01.15
No bonus for Mark Carne after Christmas rail disruptions
Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne has said he will not take his annual bonus following the major rail disruptions over Christmas.
Carne was due to receive a bonus of £34,000 – just over 5% of his £675,000 salary. The bonus can be worth up to 20% of his salary depending on Network Rail’s performance throughout the year.
Planned Christmas engineering works at King’s Cross over-ran, leaving the station closed on Saturday 27 December, forcing passengers to start and their journeys at Finsbury Park station – which in turn was also closed due to massive overcrowding.
Passengers at Finsbury Park complained of being "locked in" at the station.
"Apparently we can't leave the station because too many people are trying to get in to get on the train we just got off! Mexican standoff!" wrote Dean Pugh on Twitter.
Paddington was also temporarily shut after work did not finish on time. By Monday 29 December, normal service had resumed.
Carne said: "I'm accountable for the performance of the railway and bonuses are about performance so I've decided that I will not be taking a bonus this year.
"It's been a very disappointing Christmas, especially for those passengers who were affected by the problems at King's Cross and at Paddington.
"I deeply apologise for the experience that they had. I've triggered a full review of what happened so we learn the lessons from it, and also in consultation with the secretary of state, proposed a review with our industry colleagues about the timing of the kind of engineering works that we have to carry out."
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has described the 27 December overrun as "totally unacceptable", and the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has launched a review into what happened.
Richard Price, chief executive of the regulator, said: “ORR will be conducting a review into this weekend's disruption, and amongst other things will look at the standard of passenger information during disruptions – exploring whether passengers have been adequately informed to make alternative arrangements to their journeys or claim compensation.”
The biggest possible bonus for the Network Rail chief executive was cut from 160% to 20% of salary under reforms last year announced by the company’s chair, Richard Parry-Jones.
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