Network Rail to improve planning of contingency operations

Network Rail will not be fined for the traffic disruption during last Christmas, the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR) has said. In exchange, Network Rail has agreed to address the nine recommendations made by ORR before major works take place on the network over Christmas 2015. The ORR’s nine recommendations focus on improvements to planning of contingency operations and planning of possessions. Among these are: identifying risks to delaying train services, ensuring the risk assessment process reflects the work being carried out elsewhere on the network, ensuring the processes for communicating will cover the go/no go decision points, as well as reviewing arrangements for managing the control of an overrun incident with a command structure covering all elements of the incident including communication, train planning and station management.