Network Rail sets out response to challenges of Britain’s growing railway
Tuesday 8 Jan 2013
Network Rail today committed to continuing the biggest investment in infrastructure since the Victorian era, reducing costs and delivering more passengers on time than ever before – but also warned that tough choices need to be made if the industry is to meet these competing challenges and respond to ever rising demand from passengers.
Network Rail’s strategic business plan, which has been submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation, sets out proposals which will help drive Britain’s economy and make its railway as efficient as the best in Europe.
With year-on-year passenger and freight growth continuing at unprecedented levels, Network Rail plans to spend £37.5bn on running and expanding Britain’s railway over the five years to 2019. If approved, this investment in new infrastructure will make a real difference by boosting capacity at key pinch points on the network, providing 170,000 extra commuter seats at peak times by 2019. However, even this will not be enough on the busy West Coast Main Line, where the added capacity that HS2 will provide is essential both for the future of the railway and the economic prosperity of the country.
The plan also sets out the need to future-proof critical infrastructure against the impact of changing weather patterns, including more frequent flooding, and to enable more rail freight by upgrading strategic routes to accommodate bigger freight containers.
David Higgins, Network Rail chief executive, said: "One million more trains run every year than ten years ago, more passengers arrive on time than ever before, our safety record is one of the best in Europe and, despite the daily challenges we face, customer satisfaction is at record levels. Successive governments have made this possible by looking beyond the short term and recognising the critical importance of the railway to Britain's future.
"As our railway gets busier the challenges get bigger and more complex. We have entered an era of trade-offs. Increasingly we have to balance the need to build more infrastructure, run trains on time and cut costs, and in many areas choices will need to be made.”
Tim O’Toole, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, said: "We are moving forward together as an industry, which is a significant development, but at the end of the day passengers and freight users must see the value in our efforts. That means satisfying the demands for more capacity but also the demands for value for money. The latter will only be met by achieving greater efficiency and better service for everyone who uses and pays for our railway.”
As well as publishing the strategic business plan, Network Rail also published an accompanying document, A Better Railway for a Better Britain, outlining ten key commitments for the future, including investing in new technology, building partnerships with customers and suppliers and investing in infrastructure today to both save long-term costs and build on its record for running one of the safest railways in Europe.
Mr Higgins continued: “As an industry we have achieved a huge amount, but we are already seeing the benefit of working more closely together with our customers and suppliers and that must remain at the heart of everything we do. Our aim is to be a trusted leader in the industry as we work to build a better railway for a better Britain.”
Investing in infrastructure
Network Rail’s five-year strategic business plan, covering the period from 2014 to 2019 (known as control period five, or CP5), maps out a programme of projects designed to maintain and improve an ageing infrastructure and schemes to reduce the cost of running the rail network. By 2019, the plan will deliver a railway that:
• Moves 225m more passengers per year and carries 355,000 more trains – the highest numbers ever seen on Britain’s railways
• Provides 20% extra morning peak seats into central London and 32% into large regional cities in England and Wales
• Delivers a step change in connectivity between regional centres e.g. 700 more trains a day linking key northern cities and a ten minute reduction in journey time between Manchester and Leeds
• Carries 30% more freight than today
• Maintains record levels of performance, with expected PPM (public performance measure) of 92.5% by the end of CP5
• Is future-proofing critical infrastructure such as 30,000 bridges, embankments and tunnels against the impact of changing weather patterns, including flooding
• Has cut CO2 emissions per passenger by 37% – the equivalent of one million lorries off of our congested roads – and has hundreds of miles more electrified railway
• Is the safest in Europe, reducing risk at level crossings by 8% in CP5
• Continues to modernise antiquated signalling equipment as part of a plan to move away from over 800 signal boxes to 14 major operations centres, allowing us to run more trains closer together, safely and reliably
• Is more efficient, reducing the cost of running Britain’s railways by a further 18% (20% in CP4 and 27% in CP3) and cutting annual public subsidy to between £2.6bn and £2.9bn in 2019 – down from £4.5bn in 2009 and £7bn in 2004
To do this, Network Rail and its industry partners will be:
England:
• Removing the biggest bottleneck on the Great Western Main Line by rebuilding the railway in and around Reading station (£900m)
• Completing the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station (£600m)
• Delivering the Northern Hub project (£560m) which creates 20,000 jobs and increases rail capacity across the north of England by 700 services per day
• Electrifying over 850 miles of railway including the Great Western and Midland Main Lines and introducing new, more reliable and quicker trains
• Supporting High Speed 2 and the Department for Transport as they start to build Britain’s high speed railway network to relieve the huge capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line
• Connecting Oxford with Bedford and Milton Keynes as part of the East West Rail project, which will provide a new, electrified railway linking the Great Western, West Coast and Midland Main Lines.
Scotland:
• Reconnecting the border towns of Scotland with Edinburgh by reopening 31 miles of railway closed by Beeching in the 1960s (£300m Borders rail project)
• Improving the route between Aberdeen and Inverness resulting in better commuter services and a new station at Kintore.
Wales:
• Electrifying the Great Western Main Line to Swansea
• Electrifying the Cardiff Valley lines
• Major resignalling work bringing more reliable services in the north of the country between Flint and Llandudno
London:
• Increasing the number of seats for passengers in London by 20% during the busiest times of day
• Completing the Thameslink upgrade programme (£6bn)
• Undertaking the biggest and most complicated station rebuilding and remodelling ever on our railway, at London Bridge
• Completing the surface elements of the Crossrail project (£2.3bn)
Freight:• £200m investment in the Strategic Freight Network
With year-on-year passenger and freight growth continuing at unprecedented levels, Network Rail plans to spend £37.5bn on running and expanding Britain’s railway over the five years to 2019. If approved, this investment in new infrastructure will make a real difference by boosting capacity at key pinch points on the network, providing 170,000 extra commuter seats at peak times by 2019. However, even this will not be enough on the busy West Coast Main Line, where the added capacity that HS2 will provide is essential both for the future of the railway and the economic prosperity of the country.
The plan also sets out the need to future-proof critical infrastructure against the impact of changing weather patterns, including more frequent flooding, and to enable more rail freight by upgrading strategic routes to accommodate bigger freight containers.
David Higgins, Network Rail chief executive, said: "One million more trains run every year than ten years ago, more passengers arrive on time than ever before, our safety record is one of the best in Europe and, despite the daily challenges we face, customer satisfaction is at record levels. Successive governments have made this possible by looking beyond the short term and recognising the critical importance of the railway to Britain's future.
"As our railway gets busier the challenges get bigger and more complex. We have entered an era of trade-offs. Increasingly we have to balance the need to build more infrastructure, run trains on time and cut costs, and in many areas choices will need to be made.”
Tim O’Toole, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, said: "We are moving forward together as an industry, which is a significant development, but at the end of the day passengers and freight users must see the value in our efforts. That means satisfying the demands for more capacity but also the demands for value for money. The latter will only be met by achieving greater efficiency and better service for everyone who uses and pays for our railway.”
As well as publishing the strategic business plan, Network Rail also published an accompanying document, A Better Railway for a Better Britain, outlining ten key commitments for the future, including investing in new technology, building partnerships with customers and suppliers and investing in infrastructure today to both save long-term costs and build on its record for running one of the safest railways in Europe.
Mr Higgins continued: “As an industry we have achieved a huge amount, but we are already seeing the benefit of working more closely together with our customers and suppliers and that must remain at the heart of everything we do. Our aim is to be a trusted leader in the industry as we work to build a better railway for a better Britain.”
Investing in infrastructure
Network Rail’s five-year strategic business plan, covering the period from 2014 to 2019 (known as control period five, or CP5), maps out a programme of projects designed to maintain and improve an ageing infrastructure and schemes to reduce the cost of running the rail network. By 2019, the plan will deliver a railway that:
• Moves 225m more passengers per year and carries 355,000 more trains – the highest numbers ever seen on Britain’s railways
• Provides 20% extra morning peak seats into central London and 32% into large regional cities in England and Wales
• Delivers a step change in connectivity between regional centres e.g. 700 more trains a day linking key northern cities and a ten minute reduction in journey time between Manchester and Leeds
• Carries 30% more freight than today
• Maintains record levels of performance, with expected PPM (public performance measure) of 92.5% by the end of CP5
• Is future-proofing critical infrastructure such as 30,000 bridges, embankments and tunnels against the impact of changing weather patterns, including flooding
• Has cut CO2 emissions per passenger by 37% – the equivalent of one million lorries off of our congested roads – and has hundreds of miles more electrified railway
• Is the safest in Europe, reducing risk at level crossings by 8% in CP5
• Continues to modernise antiquated signalling equipment as part of a plan to move away from over 800 signal boxes to 14 major operations centres, allowing us to run more trains closer together, safely and reliably
• Is more efficient, reducing the cost of running Britain’s railways by a further 18% (20% in CP4 and 27% in CP3) and cutting annual public subsidy to between £2.6bn and £2.9bn in 2019 – down from £4.5bn in 2009 and £7bn in 2004
To do this, Network Rail and its industry partners will be:
England:
• Removing the biggest bottleneck on the Great Western Main Line by rebuilding the railway in and around Reading station (£900m)
• Completing the redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station (£600m)
• Delivering the Northern Hub project (£560m) which creates 20,000 jobs and increases rail capacity across the north of England by 700 services per day
• Electrifying over 850 miles of railway including the Great Western and Midland Main Lines and introducing new, more reliable and quicker trains
• Supporting High Speed 2 and the Department for Transport as they start to build Britain’s high speed railway network to relieve the huge capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line
• Connecting Oxford with Bedford and Milton Keynes as part of the East West Rail project, which will provide a new, electrified railway linking the Great Western, West Coast and Midland Main Lines.
Scotland:
• Reconnecting the border towns of Scotland with Edinburgh by reopening 31 miles of railway closed by Beeching in the 1960s (£300m Borders rail project)
• Improving the route between Aberdeen and Inverness resulting in better commuter services and a new station at Kintore.
Wales:
• Electrifying the Great Western Main Line to Swansea
• Electrifying the Cardiff Valley lines
• Major resignalling work bringing more reliable services in the north of the country between Flint and Llandudno
London:
• Increasing the number of seats for passengers in London by 20% during the busiest times of day
• Completing the Thameslink upgrade programme (£6bn)
• Undertaking the biggest and most complicated station rebuilding and remodelling ever on our railway, at London Bridge
• Completing the surface elements of the Crossrail project (£2.3bn)
Freight:• £200m investment in the Strategic Freight Network
Rail Delivery Group: Industry’s Strategic Business Plans bring the rail industry together in demonstrating a vision for Britain’s railways
The Industry Strategic Business Plans (ISBP) published today brings the rail industry together in setting out a vison for the future of Britain’s railways. Under the leadership of the Rail Delivery Group the ISBPs set out how the industry will increase rail’s contribution to Great Britain’s economic, social and environmental welfare.
In his foreword to the England and Wales ISBP the Chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, Tim O’Toole, said
“The industry has delivered unprecedented growth, at record levels of performance and safety. The key challenge for the industry is to continue this success whilst delivering better value for money. The industry must demonstrate its ability to meet the challenges ahead in partnership with a common purpose. That will require leadership and a clear vision.
This vision places the railway at the centre of a transport system that drives economic growth, moving people and goods into economic centres in a safe and sustainable way.”
The Industry Strategic Business Plans set out the industry’s plans for Control Period 5 (CP5) to make progress towards this vision, delivering the outputs specified by Government in the HLOS. To deliver this plan successfully the industry requires action and reform to the environment within which it operates.
Mr. O’Toole highlighted three issues that are essential to achieving the industry plan.
Mr. O’Toole continued
“These changes will allow the industry to drive better value for money. They will allow the industry to make explicit value for money trade offs about the balance between capacity, performance and cost. They will allow Network Rail, train operators and the supply chain to find more innovative ways to deliver greater efficiencies and revenue growth.”
Tim O’Toole concluded
“The outcomes of the periodic review and the franchising programme will be critical in setting the agenda for the rail industry in CP5. These reforms will create an opportunity for significant change. The industry has all the building blocks in place - vision, leadership, plans and partnerships - to meet the challenges ahead. It now needs government and the regulator to provide the right environment to support it in meeting these challenges and deliver this plan.”
UK Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
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“The industry has delivered unprecedented growth, at record levels of performance and safety. The key challenge for the industry is to continue this success whilst delivering better value for money. The industry must demonstrate its ability to meet the challenges ahead in partnership with a common purpose. That will require leadership and a clear vision.
This vision places the railway at the centre of a transport system that drives economic growth, moving people and goods into economic centres in a safe and sustainable way.”
The Industry Strategic Business Plans set out the industry’s plans for Control Period 5 (CP5) to make progress towards this vision, delivering the outputs specified by Government in the HLOS. To deliver this plan successfully the industry requires action and reform to the environment within which it operates.
Mr. O’Toole highlighted three issues that are essential to achieving the industry plan.
- “The re-franchising programme must be re-started as soon as possible and the franchising framework must be reformed to provide the industry with the flexibility and freedom to deliver better value for money to customers and funders
- The regulatory framework must be simplified and flexible to facilitate a range of different partnerships between Network Rail and its customers
- The franchising and regulatory frameworks must seek consistent outcomes and provide aligned incentives”
Mr. O’Toole continued
“These changes will allow the industry to drive better value for money. They will allow the industry to make explicit value for money trade offs about the balance between capacity, performance and cost. They will allow Network Rail, train operators and the supply chain to find more innovative ways to deliver greater efficiencies and revenue growth.”
Tim O’Toole concluded
“The outcomes of the periodic review and the franchising programme will be critical in setting the agenda for the rail industry in CP5. These reforms will create an opportunity for significant change. The industry has all the building blocks in place - vision, leadership, plans and partnerships - to meet the challenges ahead. It now needs government and the regulator to provide the right environment to support it in meeting these challenges and deliver this plan.”
UK Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)
ORR to undertake rigorous assessment of Network Rail’s plan for Britain’s railways
8 January 2013
ORR/2/13
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) will undertake a rigorous assessment of Network Rail’s plan for the railways between 2014-19, which is published today, to ensure it delivers best possible safety, performance and value for Britain.
The Strategic Business Plan (SBP) sets out how Network Rail intends to deliver the new projects and performance targets set and significantly funded by the Secretary of State for Transport and Scottish Ministers in their high-level output specifications, published in the summer 2012, and how much it considers the plans would cost.
The SBP is a crucial document for ORR’s periodic review (PR13) – the regulator’s assessment of what Network Rail must achieve during the five years from 2014 to 2019, the money it needs to do so, and the incentives needed to encourage delivery and outperformance. ORR’s detailed assessment of the plan will focus on:
Office of Rail Regulation Chief Executive, Richard Price, said:
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ORR/2/13
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) will undertake a rigorous assessment of Network Rail’s plan for the railways between 2014-19, which is published today, to ensure it delivers best possible safety, performance and value for Britain.
The Strategic Business Plan (SBP) sets out how Network Rail intends to deliver the new projects and performance targets set and significantly funded by the Secretary of State for Transport and Scottish Ministers in their high-level output specifications, published in the summer 2012, and how much it considers the plans would cost.
The SBP is a crucial document for ORR’s periodic review (PR13) – the regulator’s assessment of what Network Rail must achieve during the five years from 2014 to 2019, the money it needs to do so, and the incentives needed to encourage delivery and outperformance. ORR’s detailed assessment of the plan will focus on:
- Ensuring passengers and freight customers are placed at the heart of the railways, maximising the delivery of capacity, performance and safety against the right set of demanding targets;
- Network Rail’s plans to improve efficiency and reduce costs, with benefits passed on to customers and taxpayers;
- How Network Rail plans to collaborate closely with the rest of the rail industry and suppliers, at national and route level, in delivering industry-led improvements;
- How Network Rail’s plans are integrated with wider rail industry plans, and that new projects to increase rail capacity are right for its customers and provide best value; and
- Whether Network Rail has clear proposals to improve the management of its assets, such as bridges, tunnels and major structures.
Office of Rail Regulation Chief Executive, Richard Price, said:
“Ministers have shown huge faith in what the railways can add to Britain’s society and economy, committing to around £20bn worth of public money at a time when there is little money to go around. Key to maintaining rail’s success will be openly justifying this significant commitment of public money. Taxpayers significantly fund the railways, and have every right see where this money is being spent.
“Network Rail’s Strategic Business Plan demonstrates the company’s ambition to deliver an even better railway for Britain. ORR will now scrutinise the plan on behalf of rail users and taxpayers to ensure every penny is made to count and that all those involved in delivering the plan work together to achieve the highest levels of efficiency and best possible value for money. Our analysis, informed by public views, will focus on ensuring Network Rail delivers the right plans, in the right ways, at the right cost.”
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