Network Rail told to shape up as watchdog warns it is in ‘sustained decline’
There has been a “sustained decline” in Network Rail’s performance over the last year, with delays worsening and a worsening of its infrastructure, the sector’s watchdog has said.
Network Rail, which oversees Britain’s rail infrastructure system, “missed” many of its yearly targets and has overseen an increase in delays in all five of its regions, according to the Office for Rail and Road’s (ORR) annual rail consumer report.
Despite industrial action affecting performance, delays caused by Network Rail’s performance have “also increased”, with 67.8 per cent of trains arriving on time compared to 73.1 per cent the previous year, the report said.
Freight train performance saw a particularly significant decline, the report found, with the national Freight Delivery Metric (FDM) – the measure used to track freight train cancellations and delays – falling from 93.5 per cent to 86 per cent, the lowest since 2014.
Feras Alshaker, the ORR’s director for planning and performance, said: “There is no escaping the fact that currently, the rail industry is not delivering enough punctual and reliable services.
“Our report highlights that Network Rail needs to make assets like signalling and tracks more reliable, build more resilient timetables, and recover from incidents more quickly.”
The road and rail regulator has not held back on its criticism of Network Rail this year and wrote to the body in November to highlight concerns over the reliability and performance of its assets, which encompass anything from rail tracks to overhead power cables.
In today’s report, it said that “reliability of assets” in most regions has declined, with rail tracks suffering the most amid the added pressure of hot weather.
Political pressure has also been put on Network Rail to improve services, with transport minister Huw Merriman stating in June that the group “must be held to account for poor performance”, with the service “worn” in many parts.
Alshaker added: “There aren’t simple, quick, fixes, and there are still challenges, and it is good to see that Network Rail and the wider industry is pulling together to address the difficult issues. For passengers and freight users these improvement plans must be delivered on now, and we will step in if we do not see sufficient progress.”
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are committed to delivering a network that delivers for passengers and freight customers. The last year has been a challenging time for the rail industry with bouts of extreme weather, strikes and industrial unrest, and a fall-off in infrastructure reliability, which has taken its toll.
“We recognise the issues and problems at the root of this and are working hard with our industry partners to make improvements.”
The spokesperson added: “We are not complacent, we appreciate that there is much work to do to provide rail users with a better service they not only can rely on, but deserve.”