The Chief Executive of Network Rail has taken part in a Q&A as part of the final day of the Railway Industry Association’s (RIA) Annual Conference.
Andrew Haines was among a host of keynote speeches, panel discussions, interview sessions, spotlight exhibitor pitches and unique networking opportunities for rail suppliers, clients, policy makers and influencers, stakeholders and media to feature on day two.
During the Q&A he said it was unlikely Great British Railway legislation will feature in the King’s Speech, but that there is loads we can do without the legislation. He also commented on the recent news that the Office of Rail and Road had confirmed Network Rail’s £43.1 billion 2024-29 funding plans.
He said: “I refer CP7 as a generous gift and it is important we take a moment to recognise that CP7 the rail industry, the rail supply chain, has a level of financial certainty that no other part of the British economy has.
“We have a unique level of certainty and a budget that is broadly in rail terms the same as CP6. It is not everything we would want but it is a staggering level of confidence and a staggering level of certainty that nobody else has and I think it is really, really important that we recognise that. That is before you allow for the several billion pounds that high speed and enhancements add to the settlement which more or less doubles it. I think there is a huge amount we can do with that.”
He defended the Prime Minister’s decision to scrap phase 2 of the HS2 project without speaking with HS2, National Infrastructure Commission and the Chancellor.
He said: “The Prime Minister very clearly owned that decision. A key thing now though is for all of those parties to work together to look at what lessons we must learn from that and how do we make the best of the commitment he made which was to reinvest all of that released funding to transport infrastructure projects and that is what I’m concentrating on.”
Thursday’s event also included a panel discussion titled Market Outlook, International Opportunities for the UK supply chain, and a speech from John Larkinson, Chief Executive Officer at the Office of Rail and Road.
Claire Mann, Managing Director at South Western Railway, kicked off day two of the Conference speaking about passengers and the train operators own people. She also said the new Arterio fleet will come fully into service in the New Year, with the potential of some trains on the network before that.
She said: “We need a reliable and punctual service, but we need a customer focus, which we’re not going to do unless it is embedded in the business and unless we are looking after our people.”
South Western Railway run 1,600 trains a day. In her keynote speech she said the train operator was seeing 74 per cent of journeys since the pandemic.
She said: “We needed to define our culture to deliver for our customers. Was it a failing franchise being propped up, a business that had lost its way; we needed to get a purpose again.
“We needed to improve performance, timetable, punctuality and a new fleet of trains, bringing back trust and winning back trust of the people, customers and stakeholders. My approach was to take a step back and keep our heads down, making sure that we are delivering a good service and delivering our contract.”
Photo credit: www.robfinneyphotography.co.uk
