by John Armitt, Network Rail
December 2005

Network Rail has made many changes since it assumed responsibility for the rail network three years ago: from bringing maintenance in-house to restructuring the organisation of the company. By April 2005 we had the chance to see the benefits these changes had brought, as we reviewed our performance over the year 2004/05. The basic performance indicators set by the Regulator have all shown marked improvement.

Delays due to infrastructure failure fell by 2.3 million minutes – which is 17% better than the year before. This meant 83.6% of trains ran on time. Asset Condition improved by 20% and Financial Efficiency improved by 17%.

All improvements were in excess of the Regulator’s targets, and in the cases of Asset Condition and Financial Efficiency, we met the following year’s target a year early.

For 2005/06 therefore, we have raised the bar on all of our targets – making them tougher than those set by the Regulator.

Continued improvement will rely on attention to detail and better communication within the industry. This is why, by agreement with the train operating companies (TOCs), we have introduced Integrated Control Centres (ICCs). The ICCs bring together Network Rail’s controllers, TOC controllers and maintenance response units in the same room. This leads to a better, and faster, response to incidents along with a direct sharing of all information. Seven of the eight main ICCs are now open and already contributing to our overall improved performance.

We are now delivering major projects on time and to budget; projects like the Southern Power Upgrade, which supports the introduction of 2,000 new trains, and TPWS, which is now installed at 12,000 signals across the country. Our company performance depends greatly on the people within it, and we are committed to investing in our people to ensure they can achieve their potential.

As part of this commitment we have recently opened our leadership development centre, Westwood. The purpose-built, fully residential training and conference centre in Coventry will deliver a programme of professional skills development, including accredited leadership and management courses developed in partnership with Warwick Business School.

In addition, two state-of-the-art operations training centres were opened in Leeds and Watford, where 500 new signallers each year receive extensive training with the help of four real-life simulators. The £12m centres are also being used to train existing mobile operations managers and railway incident officers. We are also looking to the railway men and women of the future by investing in the Network Rail Advanced Apprenticeship Scheme.

September 2005 saw the launch of the £30m programme – one of the largest apprenticeship schemes in the UK today. The scheme means 200 17–19 year olds are working towards accreditation in track, electrification and plant and signal engineering at the Royal Navy’s HMS Sultan in Gosport, Hampshire – and we aim to continue recruiting the same number of apprentices every year for the next five years.
Looking forward, the rail industry has several major challenges . . . during the course of last year the Government decided to review the overall structure of the industry, a review ten years on from privatisation.

The primary change was the disbanding of the SRA, thus removing a layer in the industry and putting long-term strategy firmly in the hands of the Department for Transport. The letting of the train operating franchises also transfers to the DfT, but the development of Route Utilisation Strategies (RUS) – which assesses future capacity and optimum usage – transfers to Network Rail.

Determination of future expenditure is now going to form part of an iterative process in which a number of key choices will also need to be made by the DfT and the Scottish Executive.

In some cases, there will be a choice between running more services and achieving further improvements in reliability. In other cases, substantial investment may be required to relieve congestion at critical points on the network. As well as the potential for new lines, we have to plan and invest in the existing railway to get the most of what we already have and as part of this process therefore, we will be leading the industry’s work on Route Utilisation Strategies.
In many cases, there will be things we can do in the short-term with existing resources. Significant improvement often requires funding, which has to compete with other schemes that often offer greater benefit by relieving capacity constraints. We are therefore working with other developers to leverage other sources of funding to deliver station improvements.

Millions of pounds have already been saved through working closely with suppliers and reducing corporate costs. We are aiming to save hundreds of millions more over the next four years. By continuing to work smarter by cutting out duplication, realising efficiencies, embracing new technology and investing in the workforce, we will continue to reduce costs.

As a means of travel, rail faces intense and increasing competition, but is already recognised as the best option in many circumstances; that is why it has been increasing its share of personal and freight journeys.

The industry need to deliver the very best possible railway, for a fair price. But we must also help deliver a vision, a vision in which rail plays its full part in our transport system – and a vision that shapes the railway for the next generation.