Information AboutNetwork Rail |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT NETWORK RAIL | |
| post-privatisation british railway companies | |
| companies established in 2002 | |
| railway infrastructure companies | |
Network Rail is a British "not for dividend" Company Limited By Guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares. Network Rail owns and operates the fixed infrastructure assets of the British railway system. Network Rail owns the infrastructure, including the Railway Tracks , Signal s, Tunnel s, Bridge s, Level Crossing s 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 purchase was completed on 3 October 2002. The company's headquarters is at 40 Melton Street, Euston, London. The current Chairman is Ian McAllister , also Chairman of The Carbon Trust and formerly Managing Director of Ford Motor Company Limited. Its chief executive is Iain Coucher. Its executive board is small. Following an initial period in which Network Rail established itself and demonstrated its competence in addressing the principal challenges of improving asset condition, reducing unit costs and tackling delay, the Government’s Rail Review in 2004 White Paper said that Network Rail should be 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). Some of these are functions which Network Rail already had; others - such as the obligation to devise Route Utilisation Strategies - were transferred to Network Rail from the Strategic Rail Authority , a non-departmental public body, part of the UK government. (The SRA was subsequently abolished.) Network Rail also secured a 15-year lease on in Manchester, moving and recruiting 800 staff to one of Manchester's largest refurbished office spaceshttp://www.piccadillymanchester.com/index.asp?Sessionx=IpqiNwc6IlIqNwB6IaqiNwA&realname=Bruntwood’s_big_deal. PRIVATE SECTOR STATUS, GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE AND ACCOUNTABILITY Network Rail is a private-sector entity. The company is accountable to a body of Members through its corporate constitution, to its commercial train operator customers through its contracts with them (the contracts are subject to regulatory oversight), and to the public interest through the statutory powers of the Office of Rail Regulation . Since Network Rail does not have shareholders, its members hold the Board of Directors to account for their management of the business. Members are appointed by an independent panel and serve a three-year term. They have a number of statutory rights and duties which include attending annual general meetings, receiving the Annual Report and Accounts, and approving the appointment or re-appointment of Network Rail’s directors. Members have a duty to act in the best interests of the company without personal bias. They receive no payments other than travel expenses. Members have clearly defined and limited powers; they do not run the company. Setting the strategic direction and the day-to-day management of Network Rail is the responsibility of the company’s Board of Directors. That direction must be consistent with the regulatory jurisdiction of the Office of Rail Regulation, and with the requirements of its contracts. The Office of Rail Regulation in turn operates within the overall transport policy set by the UK Department For Transport , including as to what the Government wants the railway industry to achieve and how much money the Government is prepared to put into the industry. This means that the degree of Government influence and control over the company is higher than it was before these enlargements of the powers and role of the Government were introduced by the Railways Act 2005 . At any one time there are around 100 members in total, drawn from a wide range of industry partners and members of the public. There are two general categories of membership, industry members comprising any organisation holding a licence to operate on the railway or preferred bidder for a railway franchise, and public members who are drawn from the wider stakeholder community. The UK 2007, Col 363). 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; ultimately both Network Rail and the train operating companies have the shared responsibility of delivering train services to the travelling public. MONITORING NETWORK RAIL'S PERFORMANCE The Office of Rail Regulation monitors Network Rail's performance on a continuous basis against targets established by the regulatory authority in the most recent access charges review (2003), against obligations in the company's network licence and against forecasts in its own business plan. If performance is poor,the company will face criticism and possible enforcement action from its commercial customers (undertheir contracts) and from the Office of Rail Regulation (enforcing the company's network licence). It may also be criticised by its members in general meeting. In the end of year report 2005/06, the ORR reported on train performance that: "Train Performance: Good progress has been made in improving punctuality. The Public Performance Measure (PPM) of 86.4% in the year is up from 85.5% (refreshed) at the end of the third quarter (Q3) and up from 83.6% last year." Network Rail Monitor, Executive Summary Profit 1.For the first time in Network Rail's history a profit was made this year- allowing money to be reinvested into the network. 2.Train punctuality is at a seven year high. 3.Passenger numbers are at an all time high NETWORK RAIL AND NATIONAL RAIL ''Network Rail'' should not be confused with '' National Rail ''. 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). INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE pose, the Network Rail New Measurement Train heads past Dawlish ]] In October 2003 Network Rail announced that it would take over all infrastructure maintenance work from private contractors, following concerns about the quality of work carried out by certain private firms, and spiralling costs. February 2004 saw the opening of an operations centre at Waterloo Station in London, operated jointly by Network Rail and the train operating company South West Trains . This was the first full collaboration of its kind since privatisation, and it is regarded as a model for other areas of the network, with a further six integrated Network Rail + TOC Control Centres having opened since then, at Blackfriars , Croydon , Swindon , Birmingham , Glasgow and, most recently, Liverpool Street . Track renewal, the ongoing modernisation of the railway network by replacing track and signalling, continues to be carried out by private engineering firms under contract. The biggest renewals project is the multi-billion-pound upgrade of the London to Glasgow West Coast Main Line . Network Rail initially sub-contracted much of the work and the site to private Infrastructure Maintenance Companies such as Carillion and First Engineering . Other sub-contractors are used on site for specialist work or additional labour. These include:
Since 2003 Network Rail has been building up significant in-house engineering skills, including funding of apprenticeship schemes. Network Rail reports significant savings resulting from the initial transfers of work away from contracting companies. Additional contracts were taken back by Network Rail after the serious Accident At Potters Bar and other accidents at Rotherham and King's Cross led Jarvis to pull out of the track repair business. Shortly after this, and due to other failures by maintenance companies, Network Rail took control of many more maintenance duties. In 2006, Network Rail made public a high-tech plan to combat the effects of Slippery Rail . This plan involves the use of satellites for tracking trouble areas, water-jetting trains and crews using railhead scrubbers, sand sticks and a substance called Natrusolve, which dissolves leaf mulch.1 All workers working on, near or trackside have to undergo a Personal Track Safety assessment (re-assessed every two years). 2007 BUSINESS PLAN In April 2007, Network Rail published its Business Plan http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/3085.aspx - Network Rail - Business Plan 2007 complete with route maps showing the entire network divided into 26 Strategic "Routes", which in most cases might be more accurately described as geographical areas. They are as follows:
RAILWAY STATIONS Network Rail owns more than 2500 railway stations on the national rail network. Management and operation of most of them is carried out by the principal Train Operating Company serving that station, but Network Rail manages and operates 17 of the largest and busiest stations directly.2 The Network Rail-managed stations are:
DIRECTORS Executive Directors Peter Henderson and Ron Henderson are not related. Other Directors TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Network Rail has several training and development sites around Britain. These include sites in Newcastle and Larbert which provide refresher courses, and train staff in new equipment. Advanced Apprentice Scheme trainees are trained at HMS Sultan in Gosport, using Royal Navy facilities. Network Rail bought a residential centre from Cable And Wireless in the Westwood Business Centre near Coventry for leadership development. The company and other industry partners such as Grant Rail and Balfour Beatty, also operate a Foundation Degree in conjunction with Sheffield Hallam University. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINK |
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