Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine Volume 420 - September 2015 | Page 6

news420.qxp_feature 2 03/08/2015 11:34 Page 4

update
Network Rail confirms review of CP5 plan
Following decades of under
investment, Britain is now investing
record amounts in our railway to
ensure it remains fit for purpose as
well as able to accommodate the
record number of trains. Britain
now has the safest passenger
network in Europe and the railway
asset reliability is the best it has
ever been, even whilst passenger
numbers have doubled in the last
20 years.
However, Network Rail faces
some stretching targets in Control
Period 5 (CP5, 2014-19) and the
pace of improvement is behind
expectations. Several regulatory
targets were missed and following
slippages in the major projects
portfolio, chief executive Mark

Carne has given a frank assessment
to the Department of Transport of
what will be achievable in the
remaining four years.
"During my first year in the job
I have looked closely at every
aspect of our business and it has
become clear that Network Rail
signed up to highly ambitious fiveyear targets set by the regulator.
Based on historic improvements
from a low base, we were overly
optimistic about the capacity of
our company and our supplier
base to step up several gears in
order to achieve the plan,
especially given the complexities
of a network that is at full capacity
much of the time."
Mark Carne, chief executive,

Battery-powered train
wins industry award
Last Friday (26/6), the first
battery-powered train to run on
Britain’s rail network in more than
half a century was recognised with
its first industry award, picking up
the prize for best “cross industry
project” at the 2015 Railway
Industry Innovation Awards hosted
by Modern Railways at the Marriott
Grosvenor Square, London.
The Independently Powered
Electric Multiple Unit (IPEMU) was
recognised as a cross-industry
collaboration between RSSB,
Network Rail, Abellio Greater
Anglia, Bombardier and the
Department for Transport, which
saw the concept of a batterypowered train successfully trialled
over a five-week period in

4

passenger service.
News of the award can be found
on the Bombardier website.
Providing an update on the
battery-powered train project
since initial trials between Harwich
International and Manningtree,
Network Rail’s principal engineer
James Ambrose added: “We are
continuing to rigorously test the
IPEMU battery technology at
Bombardier's test facility in
Mannheim, Germany, and are
working very closely with the DfT
and our partners, looking at plans
for safety and implementation.
There’s been global interest in this
project and we aim to provide a
detailed, technical report at the
end of the year.”

MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

Network Rail
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.
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.
"I recognise that these delays
will cause disappointment for some
passengers for which I can only
apologise. I welcome the fact that

the Transport Secretary has asked
Sir Peter Hendy to work with me
and my team to develop proposals
for re-planning the programme
over the next few months."
Mark Carne, chief executive,
Network Rail
Given the change in outlook
compared to the regulatory
settlement,
Network
Rail's
remuneration committee has
decided that no bonuses should be
paid to its executive directors for
2014/15. Their bonus entitlement
had already been reduced from a
maximum of 160% of salary to 20%
shortly after Mark Carne joined as
chief executive last year. Mr Carne
has previously announced that he
would forego this year’s bonus.