Network Rail

What is Network Rail?

Network Rail is a private company that has a mandate from the government to run the British railway system. It is a private-sector entity who is accountable to a body of Members and is regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation.

Network Rail owns the infrastructure, including the railway tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and most stations, but not the passenger or commercial freight rolling stock. Network Rail took over ownership by buying Railtrack plc, which was in "railway administration", from Railtrack Group plc for £500 million.

The government’s Rail Review in 2004 saw Network Rail given responsibility for whole-industry performance reporting, timetable development, specification of small and medium network enhancements, and the delivery of route-specific utilisation strategies (RUS) from the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) - which in its turn was abolished.

Network Rail's main customers are the 21 passenger and four freight train operating companies, who provide train services on the infrastructure that the company owns and maintains. Network Rail does not run passenger services directly.

Network Rail and National Rail

Network Rail should not be confused with National Rail (a brand name of the Association of Train Operating Companies -ATOC, the brand and ATOC are jointly owned by the passenger rail companies of Great Britain, which were formed out of British Rail (BR). National Rail is a brand used to explain and promote a network of passenger railway services.

The two networks are very similar, but not exactly the same. Most Network Rail lines also carry freight traffic, some lines are freight only, and a few lines that carry passenger traffic are not part of the National Rail network (for example CTRL, Heathrow Express and the London Underground). Conversely some National Rail services operate over track that is not part of the Network Rail network (for example, where they run on London Underground track).

Network Rail owns more than 2500 railway stations on the National Rail network. Management of most of them is carried out by the principal train operating company serving that station, but it directly manages 17 of the largest and busiest stations.

Network Rail Cuts

Network Rail has told their four contractors that it will reduce the amount of track it replaces “significantly” over 2009-10. This will mean that track and point replacement will be delayed for several years.

The cuts come after Network Rail requested funding of £29.1 billion over the next accounting period until 2014. Instead they were only given £26.7 billion by the regulators. This means a shortfall of £2.4 billion

Network Rail have said “We have tough efficiency targets to meet, mandated by the Office of Rail Regulation ...We are deferring work in 2009/2010 to subsequent years when cheaper and more efficient ways of doing track renewals with new high-output equipment comes on stream.” This means there will be a 28 per cent cut in track renewals this year. There is also going to be a reduction in track inspections and signal maintenance.

Network Rail has admitted in their own 2009-10 business plan that a “huge reduction in track renewals expenditure” will have a “major impact on the supply chain” with “20% - 30% less heavy materials” resulting in “supply chain redundancies”. This will in turn have major implications for the rail freight industry which is already suffering. DB Schenker has already declared 160 train drivers redundant, the first time that train drivers have seen live redundancies since Beeching and the end of steam.

The FOCs are greatly dependent on Network Rail contracts and even more so with the economic downturn, DB Schenker’s (formerly EWS) automotive section (car trains from the car factories) revenues have dropped from £16 million to £6 million, steel business with Corus has collapsed by 60%, intermodal traffic (containers) from Felixstowe and Southampton has fallen by 15% and the smaller ports, such as Thames, by 30%. In addition Freightliner has seen its container traffic decline by a third.

Network Rail provides 20% of DB Schenker’s turnover.

If these deferred works take place in the future, the FOCs may have shed many drivers due to a lack of work at presnet. Therefore when there is an upturn, FOCs will not have the number of drivers needed to complete such projects. In addition, the work will be performed in a much tighter time frame meaning that there will be increased disruption for passengers. This will create a greater number of temporary and emergency speed restrictions.

Whilst this work takes place during the latter period of the control period, passengers can be re-routed on busses. Freight will have to be taken by road and experience dictates that when rail freight moves to road and is seen as unreliable it often doesn’t come back to trains.