The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has announced it is investigating Network Rail over the impact of its performance in the North West and Central England on passenger delays.
On a national level, the ORR said Network Rail’s contribution to delays was 58 per cent – down 1.1 percentage points on the previous year. However, it added that there are variations across the UK.
The regulator said that in the North West and Central regions, where routes are used by troubled train operators Northern and TransPennine Express, Network Rail’s performance “remains a concern”.
According to the ORR, performance in the region “deteriorated in 2018 and failed to substantially recover during 2019”, while other regions such as Wales, the West and Scotland showed marked improvement.
It is now investigating the details of government-owned Network Rail’s recently initiated recovery plan and will be monitoring the firm to test whether it is “doing all it reasonably can to improve service for passengers”.
Chief executive John Larkinson said: “The top priority for passengers is that their train arrives on time and that isn’t happening consistently enough across the country. ORR is responsible for looking at how Network Rail contributes to train delays and while there are areas of very good performance such as in Wales and Western region, Network Rail’s performance in North West and Central region is not good enough. That is why we are putting the company on a warning to make sure its improvement plans deliver for passengers.”
The ORR’s warning comes as transport secretary Grant Shapps prepares to make a decision on the future of the Northern Rail franchise, which is currently operated by Arriva Rail North. Shapps has said the operator’s performance has been “unacceptable” and has hinted he could hand the franchise to the Operator of Last Resort. He has also briefly expressed concern over the TransPennine Express contract, but his request for proposals only applies to Northern Rail.
However, Arriva has blamed delays to major infrastructure improvements – which fall under Network Rail’s remit – and “unprecedented levels of strike action” for the franchise’s poor performance.
The ORR issued a similar warning to Network Rail in 2018 following the disastrous introduction of a new timetable, which saw passengers in the North and other regions facing severe delays and cancellations for weeks on end, and services have not shown as much improvement as other regions, according to ORR records.
At the height of the chaos, Network Rail admitted its own part in the fiasco and said it was “committed to leading the industry back to higher levels of performance”.