The Shaw Report has ruled out wholesale privatisation of Network Rail but called for new ways to pay for the growth in passengers and freight to be explored.
The needs of customers should also be placed at the heart of rail infrastructure management and the railway planned according to their needs, the report into the future shape and financing of Network Rail says.
The Government has welcomed the report by HS1 chief executive Nicola Shaw, which was published today alongside the Budget, and said it will respond in full later this year.
The Shaw report also recommends ‘a step-change’ in the autonomy of Network Rail’s Routes – its units of regional administration – building on the infrastructure operator’s current move towards greater devolution.
It says this change should be supported through independent regulation by the Office of Rail and Road.
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The report calls for plans to develop skills and improve diversity
Ms Shaw said: ‘The rail network is complex, and no approach to the question of the future structure and financing of infrastructure delivery will resolve all the existing issues, nor endure forever. There aren’t any silver bullets here just waiting to be found and used.
‘My recommendations therefore focus on current issues and objectives – they offer a contemporary blueprint for growth – in a way that should enable the industry to step up and deliver better for customers.’
Also under the heading of devolution, the report recommends the creation of a ‘route for the North’. It says this would work closely with customers in the region and in particular Transport for the North.
Network Rail should also work closely with other integrated transport authorities, city regions, and London, as funding and delivery models evolve, the report states.
It calls for the Government’s role in the railway and Network Rail to be clarified, adding, ‘in particular, the roles of the Department for Transport (DfT) – as funder, client and owner of Network Rail – should be considered and clarified’.
It adds: ‘As the body responsible for transport in England and Wales, the DfT should also develop a visible longer-term strategy for rail travel, coordinating as appropriate with the governments of Scotland and Wales.’
The report team has ‘dismissed’ privatisation of Network Rail as a whole but it recommends exploring further options for involving private sector finance ‘to release government capital, encourage innovation, and speed up delivery of improvements for passengers’.
A final recommendation is the development of industry-wide plans to boost skills and improve diversity. The report says the industry as a whole needs to support and grow the pool of skilled and talented people working in the railway better and encourage more diversity.
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association said contractors’ fears that Network Rail might face a long period of overhaul, blocking or delaying vital work, have been allayed with the report’s publication.
Chief executive Alasdair Reisner said: ‘We welcome today’s report, which should deliver the vital reform needed, while allowing existing programmes of work to continue. We are also pleased to see Shaw call for greater efforts to plan skills for the sector.
'This was another area where our members wanted a better approach, and we look forward to working with other industry stakeholders to achieve this, following the Government’s response to the report later this year.’
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