ORR and NR agree £4.1m ‘rail reparation fund’

Network Rail is to provide £4.1 million for a new ‘rail reparation fund’ to pay for improvements on Thameslink and Southern services.

It follows a £2m fine imposed by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) earlier this year, for poor operational and engineering performance that disrupted trains into London, and particularly into London Bridge.

The fund will pay for an increase in staff at stations served by Thameslink, Southern and Gatwick Express; for more track workers to be employed in order to provide a faster response during disruptions; and for the introduction of incident management software to help resolve problems on the South East route.

The ORR’s latest Network Rail Monitor shows a cut in the number of track faults and signal failures compared with the corresponding period in 2014, improved freight performance, and renewals in plain line and overhead line ahead of targets.