Britain's railways between 2014 and 2019 - ORR's final determination

31 October 2013
ORR/22/13
Passengers are at the heart of final plans for Britain's railways over the next five years, which includes funding to close around 500 high-risk level crossings and tougher targets to reduce severe disruption on long distance services, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) announced today.
The regulator confirmed that Network Rail can achieve £1.7bn savings, and will be funded to deliver nine out of ten trains on time on regional, London and South East and Scottish routes, and improved reliability for long distance passenger services. It will need to improve standards of infrastructure management, network resilience, and safety for passengers and railway workers. The company will also deliver a programme of enhancements to the rail network worth more than £12bn, involving train operators, stakeholders and passengers in how improvements are designed and delivered. Network Rail will start delivering the plan from April 2014.
ORR has consulted extensively with members of the public, consumer groups, industry, and Network Rail in finalising governments’ multi-billion pound plan for Britain’s railways between 2014 and 2019. The plan is designed to deliver better performance, more capacity, and greater efficiencies. Stretching, but deliverable, targets and new incentives will get the industry working closer together for the communities they serve – supported by a strong focus on areas which need improving. ORR has only revised its draft determination, published in June 2013, where new and compelling evidence has been provided.

Network Rail will receive more than £21bn over the next five years to fund the day-to-day running of the rail network. ORR will require the company to bring down the cost of running the network by around 20%, bringing Britain’s railway up to the standards of the most efficient in Europe. Savings will be achieved through the implementation of new technologies, better management of the railways, and more efficient ways of working. The regulator has protected Network Rail’s funding for maintaining the rail network at nearly £5bn.
Savings will not come at the expense of safety. There will be increased dedicated funding of £109m to close around 500 level crossings and improve safety at hundreds more of the highest risk crossings in Britain. There will be around £250m to help improve safety of track workers, to be invested in new equipment and safer working practices. ORR has also approved an extra £571m to upgrade structures such as bridges and tunnels.
Network Rail will focus on delivering what matters for passengers – reliable services across the network and fewer bad days. Nine out of 10 trains must run on time for all regional, London and South East, and Scottish routes. Passenger Focus’ research has shown that passengers on long distance services want fewer really bad days when services are cancelled or severely delayed. There will now also be a new regulated target for long distance services. By 2019, fewer than three in 100 trains on the West Coast Main Line and around four in 100 trains on the East Coast Main Line should be hit by severe disruption (delayed by more than 30 minutes/ cancelled).
ORR has approved more than £12bn worth of enhancements to Britain’s rail network to ease congestion and improve performance on the railways. Within this, projects totalling more than £7bn do not yet have clear delivery plans or costs. ORR is giving Network Rail until March 2015 to work up efficient plans for these enhancements before approving the funds. This ensures that our determination is both deliverable and makes best use of public money. The regulator is also proposing that rail users and train operators are given a bigger role to shape the specification and delivery of approved enhancements. This will put passengers at the heart of decisions on how the railway is improved.

ORR will set new regulatory targets for Network Rail’s asset management in key areas where performance needs to improve, particularly focusing on how it manages, maintains and renews the rail network. Better asset management will allow the company to move from a ‘find and fix’ approach to maintenance to a ‘predict and prevent’ way of working, helping to boost capacity and improve performance on the network. The regulator will also put additional checks in place to monitor the company’s progress on making the network more resilient to bad weather and climate change. Getting timely and accurate information on Network Rail’s progress will help ORR track its performance and intervene at an early stage to highlight any emerging problems early on for customers.
ORR Chief Executive Richard Price said:

"Network Rail has made great strides in improving safety, performance and efficiency on Britain’s railways. Supported by significant levels of funding from governments, working more closely with the rest of the industry, and learning important lessons from the past, the company is capable of delivering more for customers and taxpayers.

"This plan for Britain’s railways between 2014 and 2019 – informed by the public, consumer groups, governments and the industry – requires a safer, higher performing and more efficient railway. More level crossings will be upgraded or closed; passengers will enjoy better punctuality and suffer fewer cancellations; customers should have a say in shaping billions of pounds of new investment on the network; and the company will continue to bring down the day-to-day costs of running the railways. With increased levels of funding in vital areas such as safety and closer monitoring from the regulator, we expect Network Rail to build on past successes and beat the challenges we have set."

Network Rail

Network Rail responds to ORR final determination.

Network Rail today published its initial response to the Office of Rail Regulation’s (ORR) final determination for the period 2014 to 2019, CP5.

The ORR has recognised the significant progress the industry as a whole has made in the last decade on train performance, value for money, affordability, and, above all, safety as the company continues to meet unprecedented increases in passenger and freight demand at the same time as rebuilding our Victorian network.

Having received the final determinations today, the company has until the 7^th February 2014 to respond in detail and accept or reject the determination.

David Higgins, chief executive, said: “The next five years for the railway will prove to be a critical challenge. A challenge to continue to respond to rising passenger demand and our need to grow and expand the network while at the same time juggling the ever harder challenges of improving performance, reducing cost and delivering huge investment projects from which substantial social and economic benefits flow.

“The determination has to be right to help the company, and the railway as a whole, succeed and deliver what’s needed by passengers, freight users and the taxpayer. We must now look at the individual targets within the determination, as well as the package as a whole and welcome the opportunity provided by the ORR to use the coming months to seek clarification and work through the detail.”

Cable theft disrupts West Midlands rail passengers

Network Rail and British Transport Police are appealing for help in tracking down cable thieves after a number of recent incidents in the West Midlands.

Over the last 12 months, thieves have struck over 40 times across the West Midlands*, causing over 36,000 delay minutes to trains and passengers.

Network Rail route managing director Dyan Crowther said: “We are working closely with British Transport Police to reduce cable theft on the railway and our efforts over the last few years have seen a marked drop in both the number of cable theft incidents and the resulting delays to passengers

“However, when cable theft does happen, it is incredibly frustrating for our customers who are affected by the disruption. Cable theft is a serious criminal act and I would urge anyone sees anything suspicious or knows people who may be responsible to contact British Transport Police.”

Nationally, delays caused by cable theft have reduced significantly from its peak several years ago with the improvement down to a number of factors, including British Transport Police targeting thieves and the scrap dealers buying stolen metal. Network Rail engineers are working with suppliers and other industries to make metal – particularly cables – harder to steal and easier to identify and are introducing new ways of working to reduce delay and fix thefts more quickly.

Detective Inspector John Pyke of British Transport Police Detective added: "The theft of cable is not just an attack on the railway – it has a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of thousands of passengers with trains delayed or cancelled as a result of cable theft.

“BTP has a dedicated team of officers working throughout the West Midlands to tackle this type of crime. We are also catching and prosecuting more cable thieves than ever before. However, this crime still poses a serious threat to the railway infrastructure and we will not become complacent.

“We will continue to take action and focus our resources to drive this type of crime down even further but we need your help. Did you witness anything suspicious? Do you know anyone involved in the theft of cable from the railway? If so, we want to hear from you.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police on Freefone 0800 40 50 40 , alternatively, information can be passed to the independent charity, Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111 .

Notes:

*West Midlands figures drawn from Network Rail’s 3 depots in the region: Saltley, Stafford, Sandwell & Dudley.
Last 12 months: 44 incidents, 36,109 delay minutes.

Recent incidents this month in the West Midlands include:
12 October, Hartlebury: 103 trains delayed
1 October, Bescot (Walsall): 86 trains delayed
Detailed figures on cable theft across the national network over the last 5 years (Note: total cost figures are an estimate):

Financial Year	No. of incidents^	Delay minutes¹	Compensation cost*	Total Cost**
2012/13	285	160,260	£5, 823, 094	£12,765, 935
2011/12	845	344,680	£12, 000, 679	£18,337,504
2010/11	995	365, 430	£12, 132, 860	£16,404, 255
2009/10	656	321, 570	£10, 931, 350	£13,511, 889
2008/09	742	283, 167	£7, 858, 516	£12,315,811

It is already illegal to sell scrap metal for cash – this legislation was introduced in December 2012.
Network Rail supported the Private Member's Bill introduced by Richard Ottaway MP to regulate scrap metal dealers. The Bill was passed in February 2013 and the act will become enforceable as the Scrap Metal Dealer's Act in autumn 2013.
The Home Office is issuing guidance to councils, police, the legal services and all those involved with the implementation of the Act, the key features of which are:
• Scrap metal dealers must be licensed and local authorities have the power to refuse unsuitable applicants and revoke licences
• Police have the power by court order to close unlicensed scrap yards
• All sellers of metal must show verifiable ID which dealers must record and retain
• Cash trades for scrap metal are now illegal without exception and subject to unlimited fines
• A public national register of scrap metal dealers will be created to help make sure that sales of scrap metal are accounted for and that all people trading scrap are doing so legitimately.

Cable theft disrupts West Midlands rail passengers

GOV.UK

Commuters in the south west to benefit from smart ticketing

'Touch in - touch out' ticketing technology for rail passengers in the south west announced.
The government is investing £3.25 million in modernising ‘touch in - touch out’ ticketing technology for rail passengers in the south west, Rail Minister Baroness Kramer announced today (31 October 2013).
The funding will allow South West Trains (SWT), which operates lines between Waterloo and Exeter, and Portsmouth and Weymouth, to upgrade the ITSO ticketing system at all of its stations outside London, paving the way for even more passengers in the region to start using smarter technology for their travel from 2014.
The project is part of the Department for Transport’s £45 million south east flexible ticketing (SEFT) scheme to promote seamless and convenient rail travel across the network.
Rail Minister Baroness Kramer said:

A modern railway system helps drive a strong and vibrant economy. Smart ticketing will help the tens of thousands of commuters who use these services every day, getting them to their places of work more quickly and on time.

Smart technology also will also help pave the way for passengers to get the best deals for travelling, for instance part-time workers receiving discounts on season tickets for travelling 3 days rather than 5.

Passengers will benefit immediately from the switch to smart ticketing because:

they trigger automatic ticket gates more quickly and reliably;

it will be easier to buy tickets online and collect them at stations;

they will help to shorten queues at ticket offices

they are much more durable than paper tickets and do not wear out as quickly.

The DfT has plans to roll out smart ticketing across the entire south east region by the end of 2015. As part of this £2.85 million has already committed to upgrading ticketing machines with train operator c2c. Furthermore a competition will be held among train operators next year to identify a suitable trial to assess the viability of flexible season tickets.
Tim Shoveller, Managing Director of the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, said:

This is great news for our customers and we are pleased to be working with the Department of Transport to expand our existing commitment to smart ticketing.

We were the first train operator on the UK National Rail network to offer smartcard travel and passengers can already use this convenient technology at more than 100 of our stations. Integrating this with the SEFT investment programme means that travel on Europe’s busiest commuter network will become easier and more convenient.

South West Trains currently operates 186 railways stations, including the major commuter hubs like Southampton, Basingstoke, Woking and Guildford, serving 210 million passengers a year.
Stagecoach was the first in the UK to launch a national rail smartcard pilot at South West Trains in 2008 and more than 200,000 smartcard transactions are now made on Stagecoach’s bus and rail services each day. Stagecoach has also introduced StagecoachSmart travel cards at its bus companies in Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Manchester and East Kent and East Sussex after becoming the first major UK bus operator to install smartcard-enabled technology on its entire 7,000 fleet of buses outside London. In London, all 1,400 Stagecoach buses accept Transport for London’s Oyster Card.

£17 million for Leeds station

Leeds station receives £17 million funding for improvements.

Rail passengers in Yorkshire are set to benefit from better access to Leeds station thanks to £17 million funding.
The proposals – which include a new pedestrian entrance and access to the southern side of the station to and from the existing platform footbridge – received final approval from Local Transport Minister Baroness Susan Kramer today (31 October 2013).
Baroness Kramer said:

This scheme will help the Leeds city centre’s economy continue to grow by improving access for the many people who work to the south of the station.

The £12.4 million we are putting into this project shows that the coalition government is serious about investing in the infrastructure the country needs to drive economic growth both locally and nationally.

The scheme will support the redevelopment and regeneration in the southern quarter of the city centre where a large proportion of the new jobs forecast for Leeds city centre are to be located.
The scheme consists of an enclosed structure over the River Aire that incorporates lifts, escalators and stairs allowing passengers access from the current western footbridge within the station to ground level either side of the river. The proposals also include CCTV, lighting, help points, ticket machines, passenger information screens, ticket barriers, cycle parking and measures to improve pedestrian access in the immediate surrounding area.
The Leeds station southern entrance scheme was one of the schemes given funding approval in 2011 as part of the Spending Review process. Work can now start on the scheme.
The Department for Transport will provide a maximum of £12.4 million towards the full scheme cost of £17.319 million.
The main works are scheduled to be completed by March 2015.

Transport Committee to hold its second evidence session on safety at level crossings

This session will consist of panels from safety authorities and industry bodies, Network Rail and the Department for Transport.

Monday 4 November 2013, Grimond Room, Portcullis House

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