Industry plan sets out long-term vision for rail in Britain
by Lorna Slade
Network Rail plans to spend £37.5 billion on running and expanding Britain’s railway over the five years to 2019. The cost will be funded by a combination of above-inflation fare rises, reduced government subsidies and debt. The cross-industry Strategic Business Plan promises the largest investment in infrastructure since the Victorian era and is aimed at reducing costs and delivering more passengers on time. But NR admits ‘tough choices need to be made’ if the industry is to meet these competing challenges and respond to ever rising demand. The plan was issued in response to the
UK and Scottish governments’ High-Level Output Specifications for the 2014-19 funding period (control period five or CP5) published last July, and has been submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation, for a ‘rigorous assessment’ before final approval in October. It includes: • moving 225 million more passengers per year and 355,000 more trains into service - the highest numbers yet seen on Britain’s railways
• providing 170,000 more peak-time commuter seats or 20 per cent extra morning peak seats into central London and 32 per cent into large regional cities in England and Wales
• a step change in connectivity between regional centres, for example 700 more trains per day linking key northern England cities and a 10-minute reduction in journey times between Manchester and Leeds
• a 30 per cent increase in rail freight and the continued development of the Strategic Rail Freight Network, which will see more than £200 million invested in core UK corridors to accommodate larger, longer and heavier freight trains • maintaining record levels of
performance, with expected PPM of 92.5 per cent by the end of CP5
• ‘future-proofing’ critical infrastructure against the impact of changing weather patterns, including 30,000 bridges, embankments and tunnels
• adding 1000 miles of new electrified lines including the Great Western and Midland Main Lines
• spending £1 billion to improve the network in the South and South East
• spending around £4 billion in improvements for Scotland including re-opening 31 miles closed by Beeching in the 1960s (A £300 million Borders rail project)
• being the safest railway in Europe, reducing risk at level crossings by eight
PAGE 8 FEBRUARY 2013 per cent in CP5
• swapping 800 old signal boxes to 14 major operations centres without compulsory redundancies
• supporting HS2 which NR describes as ‘essential for the future of Britain’.
NR raised its spending estimate by £3.5 billion in part because of last winter’s heavy rains and flooding and admits the plan will only be affordable if it manages to make savings - it says it aims to reduce costs by a further 18 per cent in CP5, and cut the annual public subsidy to between £2.6 - 2.9 billion in 2019 (down from £7 billion in 2004) - in line with the government’s aim to place the burden less on the tax payer and more on rail users.
the plan will be the speed and effectiveness of legal reforms needed for the closure of level crossings and the diversion of both public and private rights of way to make way for faster trains.’ RMT general secretary, Bob Crow, said:
‘While the RMT supports any plans to expand and invest in Britain’s railways, we repeat our call for Sir Roy McNulty’s plans to cut safety-critical staff to be stopped in light of the surge in demand for rail services rightly identified by Network Rail.’ General media comment points out that the success of the plan depends on inflation staying low, passenger demand staying high, the commercial property market remaining steady and the next government sticking to the current fares policy of yearly, above- inflation rises.
To see the plan visit
www.networkrail.co.uk/ publications/strategic-business-plan-for-cp5/
The Office of Rail Regulation is seeking public views on the plan until 19th February. Visit
www.rail-reg.gov.uk
The plan also depends on fares rising by more than inflation every year for another six years. Paul Plummer, Network Rail’s group strategy director, described the plan as ‘not easy’. ‘Our job is to manage the risk of delivering it but it will get easier over the years in terms of clarity. We need to invest in future cost reduction but that requires a franchising and regulatory regime that delivers.’
Michael Roberts, ATOC chief executive, said there are ‘hard choices to be made by the government in deciding what it wants from this railway’ and suggested that fare rises could be limited and subsidies reduced if the government was less prescriptive on franchise agreements. Roberts called for early clarification from the government on the franchising and regulatory framework in allowing train companies, Network Rail and suppliers to deliver the best possible deal for passengers and taxpayers. While pointing out that that the skills shortage and access to the railways might be problematic, Director General of the Railway Industry, Jeremy Candfield, said the plan marks a shift to a fundamentally different railway. ‘This is not business as usual, it is a combined effort to take us to a different place. We are committed to a rolling plan of electrification and to driving waste out of the way. We’re up for this.’ A detailed delivery plan for the projects is unlikely before March 2014 according to Malcolm Dowden, consultant with lawyers Charles Russell. ‘Crucial to the success of
Green light for freight terminal
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has welcomed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles’ approval for a new rail freight terminal near Radlett, Hertfordshire. The FTA says the decision is good news for rail freight and a modal shift to less polluting means of transport, as well as good for economic growth. The association’s Rail Freight Council has helped develop policy which recognises a need for more freight terminals in London and the South East of England, and that a network of terminals is essential to maximise government investment in enhancing the rail network for freight.
Chris MacRae, the FTA’s rail freight policy manager, said: ‘Rail freight terminals are the freight network’s equivalent of passenger stations, so this decision is a good one for the freight industry.’ Speaking at the launch of Network Rail’s strategic business plan, Lindsay Durham, chair of the Rail Freight Operators’ Association, said: ‘Rail freight has continued to grow but we need to price ourselves competitively. We are pleased the government supports rail freight and that triggers private investment. The Radlett terminal is testament to that.’
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