ORR: Performance good, but disruptions still concerning

Thursday, 28, Aug 2008 12:00

Bill Emery, chief executive of the Office of Rail Regulation, comments on today's performance figures:

"The latest figures are excellent news for most passengers. However, the regular closure of parts of the network for engineering work causes substantial disruption and inconvenience to many passengers and freight customers, as well as deterring others from using the network altogether.

"For rail to make its full contribution to our economy it is important that this disruption is reduced significantly. We have been taking steps to ensure this happens.

"Over the next five years Network Rail must continue to carry out a full schedule of maintenance and renewal of the infrastructure, together with a massive programme of enhancements to increase network capacity.

"But work by Network Rail and train operators has shown that it should be possible both to achieve increased efficiency and to reduce disruption to train services by adopting best practice and exploiting technological advances.

"We expect the railway to be kept open for business for as much time as is possible, and we propose to set Network Rail a target to reduce disruption to passengers by 17 per cent within three years and 37 per cent within five years."