Network Rail today published its initial response to the Office of Rail Regulations (ORR) final determination for the period 2014 to 2019, CP5.
The ORR has recognised the significant progress the industry as a whole has made in the last decade on train performance, value for money, affordability, and, above all, safety as the company continues to meet unprecedented increases in passenger and freight demand at the same time as rebuilding our Victorian network.
Having received the final determinations today, the company has until the 7th February 2014 to respond in detail and accept or reject the determination.
David Higgins, chief executive, said: The next five years for the railway will prove to be a critical challenge. A challenge to continue to respond to rising passenger demand and our need to grow and expand the network while at the same time juggling the ever harder challenges of improving performance, reducing cost and delivering huge investment projects from which substantial social and economic benefits flow.
The determination has to be right to help the company, and the railway as a whole, succeed and deliver whats needed by passengers, freight users and the taxpayer. We must now look at the individual targets within the determination, as well as the package as a whole and welcome the opportunity provided by the ORR to use the coming months to seek clarification and work through the detail.
