FEATURE: SOUTH WEST TRAINS
BACK TO THE FUTURE
The landmark McNulty report into the economics of the railways highlighted the separation between infrastructure and operations as the main counter to progress. Now, Network Rail and South West Trains have come together in a new initiative that may well be copied across the industry.
Words: Christian Wolmar
Sub Editor: Deborah Maby
E Image:
© Pink Badger -
Fotolia.com
24 RailCONNECT
ver since the privatisation of the railways nearly two decades ago, the biggest area of controversy has been the division in the industry between infrastructure and operations. The decision to divide it thus was made in order to encourage competition but it ran against normal railway practice and has led to problems between the two parties. One example is in the case of possessions: when the railway is taken out of use for maintenance it can be a real source of conflict between Network Rail and the train operator. This was recognised in the
McNulty report into the economics
of the industry, which found that the separation had caused increased costs and that incentives were often not aligned – in other words, what was good for the operators, which might mean a minimum number of possessions, might make life very difficult for the infrastructure manager, Network Rail.
One of the key suggestions to come out of McNulty was, therefore, to bring the two sides in the industry together in a scheme known as ‘alliancing’. This could take several forms, ranging from having a joint committee to discuss common matters to actually uniting the two parties into what would effectively
be a recreation of an integrated railway. At South West Trains (SWT), they have decided to go for that type of deep alliance despite the fact that there are a host of obstacles, both legal and practical. Network Rail and SWT are obviously two separate legal entities and, worse, their incentives are not always aligned, in precisely the way described. Their relationship is governed through what are called Schedule 8 payments. Any delays caused by Network Rail will lead to payments to SWT and, indeed, delays caused by SWT also result in payments to other operators who may be affected.
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