Britain’s transport secretary has announced no Network Rail bosses will receive their bonuses this year, following “absolutely unacceptable” issues with train services over the period.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin criticised the Network Rail board in an address to the House of Commons last week, citing delays and electrification cost blowouts among reasons the company’s service had “not been good enough”.
None of the executive directors on the board during massive delays over the Christmas period will receive their bonuses this year, McLoughlin announced.
Network Rail chairman Richard Parry-Jones will step down to be replaced by Sir Peter Hendy, currently the transport commissioner for London.
And the £38 billion electrification plan will be “reset,” McLoughlin said, after “costing more and taking longer” than originally planned.
Electrification works will be “paused” on a number of lines, while a review into “lessons learned” takes place.
“Important aspects of Network Rail’s invest programme are costing more and taking longer,” McLoughlin said.
“Electrification is difficult. The UK supply chain for complex signal work needs to be stronger. Construction rates have been slow. It has taken longer to obtain planning consent from some local authorities.
“But that is no excuse. All of these problems and could have been foreseen by Network Rail.”
McLoughlin also appointed former Eurostar boss Richard Brown in a special director role to Network Rail. Brown will report back to McLoughlin on the company’s progress.
In response, Network Rail boss Mark Carne had this to say: “On the big items like electrification and capital projects, it was always part of the regulatory process that the costs and programme would be revisited as projects became properly defined.”
He was quoted by the UK’s Telegraph: “Unfortunately when these reviews have occurred, the more detailed project costs have been higher than assumed at the earliest stages of definition.
“As a result, the total enhancement programme cost now exceeds the available five-year budget. Some projects are also delayed beyond the original dates.”