Regulator concerned by widespread non-compliant examinations of Network Rail’s bridges and tunnels

In its annual assessment of Network Rail’s performance the regulator said that it is “concerned” about a rising number of railway bridges and tunnels examinations that have been carried out incorrectly in the last year. The regulator added that this is a problem across all regions.

The regulator added that continued backlogs in both earthworks and structures examinations were also a cause for concern, particularly within the Eastern, North West and Central regions

There are more than 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts under Network Rail’s ownership.

The ORR report concludes that if the examination process is not improved then “faults could be undetected”.

“During the year, we continued our focus on driving improvements to Network Rail’s delivery of structures examinations,” ORR’s assessment adds. “We undertook a review of overall compliance for structures examinations and found structures examination non-compliances in all regions.

“If the examination process is not completed at the required intervals, faults could be undetected (or detected but not properly assessed). Failure to manage the examination process could also impact Network Rail’s ability to plan maintenance and renewal activities, which is important now as it develops its plans for CP7.”

It adds: “We found that Network Rail’s plans were aimed at removing non-compliance but that they contain some weaknesses and do not yet fully address our concerns.”

Due to concerns around structure examinations, the ORR has asked each region to produce recovery plans and is in the process of engaging with them to ensure that these are of sufficient quality.

The ORR concludes that the backlog in delivery of structures examinations is partly due to its transition to new Civil Examination Framework Agreement (CEFA) contracts.

It adds that the transition to the new framework agreement “should have been managed more effectively”. It adds: “While recent data from Network Rail shows there has been some reduction of non-compliance, the backlog recovery plans provided by the regions are not being met so there is more to be done.”

As well as a dip in the quality of structural examinations, the ORR also reported a “growing number of non-compliant building visual examinations”.

“As with structures, this was due to the renewal of the CEFA contracts. Network Rail also highlighted a potential issue with earthworks examination compliance due to the poor rate of examination activities being progressed compared to previous years,” the ORR assessment adds.

The annual assessment of Network Rail also concludes that the company has continued to deliver its planned efficiencies in 2021/22 but warns it must carefully manage its financial risks, particularly in the context of rising inflation.

The report shows Network Rail delivered £840M of efficiency improvements for the year, above its £830M target. Most of Network Rail’s five regions met or exceeded their annual efficiency targets.

The Eastern region delivered best, achieving £251M, 30% of the £840M total. However, the ORR is concerned about Network Rail Scotland’s delivery of efficiencies as it reported only £64M, 21% behind its target.

ORR Chief Executive John Larkinson said: “Network Rail has played a key role in ensuring we continue to have one of the safest railways in Europe. Its delivery of efficiencies remains strong but financial risks, including inflation, need to be carefully managed.

“There are only two years left in Control Period 6, which runs from 2019 to 2024, and an increase in financial risks could result in delayed work and under delivery of planned efficiencies.

“And as work continues with government to facilitate rail reform, Network Rail needs to keep focused on getting the basics right. This includes maintaining safe and reliable infrastructure and delivering on financial efficiencies, to protect the interests of both taxpayers and rail users.”

The ORR’s annual report on health and safety on Britain’s Railways, released earlier this month, concludes that the risk of rail worker accidents is now at an ‘all time low’ thanks to improvements made by Network Rail.

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