Benefits of Network Rail stations

[atwales]

Hi all,

I have an assignment coming up soon and have come to a bit of a brainfreeze.

Can anybody help me and answer the question:

What is the benefit of Network Rail managing the stations they own?

Thanks in adv.

 

[yorkie]

What do you have so far? People will be willing to help, but maybe less inclined to do all the work for you

 

[atwales]

I'm not sure if I'm going about it the right way as so far I have:

To offer more assistance than TOC staff
To have a better knowledge than TOC staff

But I'm not sure if they are really benefits of a station being managed by NR instead of a TOC - and thats what I really need!!

Thanks

 

[cjp]

NR receive all the gains from redevlopment, & rentals from station site lettings to shops/ outlets - equally profits from these will not go (in part) to TOC shareholders but to us as taxpayers so reducing the subsidy to NR. This, to me, seems to be a good thing.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I'm not sure if I'm going about it the right way as so far I have:

To offer more assistance than TOC staff
To have a better knowledge than TOC staff

Why would that be the case for either circumstance?

 

[John @ home]

What is the benefit of Network Rail managing the stations they own?

My understanding is that Network Rail own all the railway stations on the National Rail network (except, I think, Fishguard Harbour). They operate 17 major stations and lease the remaining 2,500 to train operating companies. See Our history - Network Rail.

I would be interested to read a comparison of direct operation versus leasing of railway stations. If tackling this, I think I would start with Network Rail and train company web sites, including annual reports. It might also be worth reading the Act and Hansard debates when Railtrack (Network Rail's predecessor) was established to see what benefits ministers expected from direct management of the largest stations. Have these been achieved?

 

[Eagle]

My understanding is that Network Rail own all the railway stations on the National Rail network (except, I think, Fishguard Harbour).

They also don't own Warwick Parkway, which is currently owned by Chiltern itself. Also Southend Airport station is owned by Stobart (who own the airport).

 

[Temple Meads]

I've always assumed that the main reason for Network Rail leasing out stations is so they can concentrate on operating the track and other infrastructure, and don't have to worry about employing station staff.

 

[tractakid]

Aren't some of the tube stations that served by National Rail owned by London Underground? Like Rickmansworth-Amersham, Greenford, Whitechapel, Canada Water? etc

 

[Cherry_Picker]

Yes. And the opposite is true too where Network Rail stations are served by London Underground trains, such as at Harrow and Wealdstone.

 

[Paul Kelly]

I suspect by far the biggest motivation is retaining income from non-operational-rail uses the station buildings are put to, i.e. rental income from shops etc. And that this goes back to the privatisation of British Rail and the days of Railtrack, and the way it considered itself as a property company.

I read in RAIL magazine that Network Rail were hoping to take over the management of Reading station once the redevelopment work there is complete. I got the impression it was intended that the rental income from the new retail opportunities was part of the financial plan to offset the cost of the redevelopment. The new Great Western franchise, which was supposed to be let around now I think, wouldn't include have included the management of (nor rental income from) Reading station.

But that has all been thrown up in the air by the DfT negotiating to extend First Great Western's franchise; obviously FGW will use the bargaining power they have with the incompetent DfT to try to hold on to the management of Reading station as long as possible, in order to retain the rental income!

 

[swt_passenger]

I'm not sure if I'm going about it the right way as so far I have:

To offer more assistance than TOC staff
To have a better knowledge than TOC staff

Thanks

I think neither point has much or any relevance. Even at the busiest stations such as Waterloo, most customer/passenger facing activity is still done by the TOC. I don't think NR have much to do with anything at all there, however other major stations with multiple TOCs might be different, for instance in terms of train despatch, but as I see it that isn't really the sort of passenger facing job your question suggests.

Passenger general enquiries, ticket sales, revenue protection etc are all areas where the passenger normally still talks to TOC personnel.

Where the coffee shop rent goes, or who employs the station cleaners is of little direct concern to passengers.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Be aware of the possibility that whoever is going to mark your assignment might be reading all this.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Economies of scale mainly.
And reducing the multiplicity of organisational interfaces in managing and developing a big station.
It also gives a long-term planning potential for investment, and taps a layer of big-project management and construction partners.
Can you imagine LM managing the Birmingham New St upgrade?
It also provides a consistent interface to government (eg city councils, PTEs, TfL etc).

NR management seems to be creeping down the size scale.
It's not entirely clear to me why large strategic multi-TOC stations like Bristol, Cardiff and Newcastle are not NR-managed if Reading is going to be.

Perversely, it also means TOCs often do not lead on the operation of their flagship stations - Virgin's biggest operated station is, I think Preston, not Euston, New St or Piccadilly for instance.

 

[swt_passenger]

NR management seems to be creeping down the size scale.
It's not entirely clear to me why large strategic multi-TOC stations like Bristol, Cardiff and Newcastle are not NR-managed if Reading is going to be.

The 2009 'stations report' for DfT (Green and Hall's) did discuss this a bit, without stating explicitly that the stations should definitely be transferred to NR. I think an odd aspect is that although they reckoned Bristol, Newcastle, York and Cardiff were in the highest tier 'National Hub A' status, they left Reading in the 'National Interchange B' list.

I suspect many people would have expected Reading to be an 'A' station really.

Of course, changing the status of Reading may just be the one that's known about so far, York and Newcastle could possibly change at ECML re-franchising for all we know...

The original poster might find it useful: http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/better-rail-stations/report.pdf but I don't really want to write his assignment...

 

[Eagle]

I read in RAIL magazine that Network Rail were hoping to take over the management of Reading station once the redevelopment work there is complete.

That would certainly explain why all the new signage is in the NR style, rather than FGW's.

 

[Manchester77]

Ooh I wonder what the little symbol will be for Reading

 

[edwin_m]

A book?