Train delays will get worse over next five years, leaked presentation …

Network Rail is predicting that train delays [1] can only get worse over the next five years. A leaked internal presentation warns that rising costs will lead to a worsening service as the network [2] struggles to repair and maintain its infrastructure. It reportedly finds that current funding will not let Network Rail “operate, maintain and renew” its tracks [3], bridges and earthworks infrastructure.

The leaked “official-sensitive-commercial” presentation, intended for rail industry bosses and seen by The Independent, reports that costs will increase as the network continues to repair old infrastructure, which in the long term will be more expensive than investing in new. It reportedly says Network Rail may have to cut its GBP3 billion “risk fund” – designed to help in emergencies such as severe weather [4] – in order to prioritise fixing the rail services that make the most money. There will be fewer repairs over the next five years and there could be more obstructions that cause delays and accidents because of an inability to clear them, according to the presentation.

It states that costs are increasing because of inflation, ageing assets and an increasing need to protect against the extreme weather caused by climate change. “The [financial settlement] does not provide for operating, maintaining and renewing the rail infrastructure in a ‘steady state’ during [2024-29],” the presentation says, adding that the settlement “reflects a constrained level of expenditure”. This comes on top of record cancellations and wait times between October and December last year, when 4.5 per cent of all trains were cancelled – the highest rate since 2014 [5] – and only 62.3 per cent of station stops were on time, according to the Office of Rail and Road.

1312 Train Delays [6]

The presentation also highlights fears that passenger costs could continue to rise following a 5.9 per cent increase [7] in rail fares last month – the highest in 10 years.

Opposition parties and passenger groups have said the presentation demonstrates the dire state of Britain’s rail infrastructure. Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, said: “A lost decade of dismal Conservative failure has left the country with second-rate infrastructure and broken rail services failing passengers. “The document is clear – under the Conservatives, our broken railways are here to stay.

Short-sighted decisions don’t lower costs, they harm our public finances in the long run and leave taxpayers to foot the bill. “Labour will call time on this decade of Tory decline, ensuring value for money and delivering the infrastructure fit for the century ahead, unlocking growth, jobs and investment.” Rail unions claim the revelations about shortfalls in maintenance funding highlight what amounts to a “managed decline” of the railway network.

Mick Lynch, the RMT general secretary [8], accused ministers of “cutting investment, slashing services and staff numbers, scrapping vital infrastructure projects and rewarding failed private train operators like Avanti with lucrative contract extensions”. A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We have pledged a record GBP44.1 billion for Network Rail as part of our commitment to maintain vital infrastructure and run a safe and reliable railway.” A Network Rail spokesman said: “The Government’s commitment to investing GBP44 billion in the operations, maintenance and renewal of England and Wales’s railway is a clear indication of the strong economic value rail brings to Britain.”

The money is allocated from April 2024 to March 2029.

It includes a four per cent increase compared to the last period and marks an above-inflation investment.

References

^ train delays (www.telegraph.co.uk)
^ the network (www.telegraph.co.uk)
^ its tracks (www.telegraph.co.uk)
^ such as severe weather (www.telegraph.co.uk)
^ the highest rate since 2014 (www.telegraph.co.uk)
^ 1312 Train Delays (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
^ a 5.9 per cent increase (www.telegraph.co.uk)
^ the RMT general secretary (www.telegraph.co.uk)