Network Rail CP5 - ORR Determination

[LNW-GW Joint]

Big day for the railway on June 12.
ORR will be publishing its draft determination on NR's CP5 budget and plans.
http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/pr13/getInvolved/DD-launch-events.php

This is Round 3 in the battle to confirm what money is spent by NR on maintenance and projects over CP5 (2014-19).
Round 1 was the DfT and SG's HLOS/SoFA in July 2012.
Round 2 was the NR plan in response in Jan 2013 (£33.3 billion for England Wales and £4.1 billion for Scotland).

The ORR determination will confirm which projects are in (or possibly out).
The whole subject of maintenance costs, international benchmarking and improving productivity will be central (Roger Ford's boiling frogs etc).
Ideally, ORR will rubber-stamp the NR plans, but it doesn't usually work out like that.
For me, the interesting bits will be what is said about the projects NR is not yet geared up for (electric spine, ETCS, DC-AC conversion etc) and things like the Regional Operating Centres.

As I read the ORR notice for the conference events in London, Cardiff and Glasgow, they are open to the public.

 

[WatcherZero]

Consolidating the signalling centres to reduce costs is the sort of thing ORR loves doesnt it?

Other stuff the Government just pulled out of its arse I expect there will be a lot of detail to be decided since NR hadnt had long to properly examine it. In general ORR is like Kirk to NR's Scotty, always taking the estimates and saying do it in less, usually without any rational basis.