Cation in the future
that were not planned. The Government changed the rules so that we cannot borrow.”
He said that NR will now have a rolling plan of enhancements, so that it knows what can be achieved: “The trans-Pennine upgrade is an example of that. We are going to do that, but until we know how, I will not say. We will deliver the report in December.”
Carne said of the funding windows NR currently uses: “We need to make clear definitions. Operations, maintenance and renewals need to be funded in five-year lumps to allow management and drive efficiency. Across Europe, countries who moved from five-year windows want to go back to five years.
“Enhancements are separate, and better managed outside those windows. We need to work out what we want to achieve.”
He said that NR knows what it wants to do with projects after they reach the GRIP 4 stage.
“All the problems occur by making promises before it’s done,” he said. But he admitted: “Things will go wrong. The measure is the response and how you learn.”
On enhancements, Carne said: “We have to find the right circumstances and the point in time we are ready to deliver, and then do so. There is a huge risk of franchises ordering trains that don’t work. By getting upfront we can deliver the projects.
“I want to have the system operator within Network Rail. It should also look at the best ways of improving capacity through new projects. That process should be more transparent. Then a shopping list can be made and you can work down the list for what’s best for the UK.”
He highlighted how this could work. “The Initial Industry Advice (IIA) is the document that sets out how we think rail will deliver. So, for the Western Rail Link to Heathrow, we could say it’s not important but Heathrow says it is and will pay for it.
“There will be loads of projects where a developer needs a branch line built. That may not be usable for us, but if they pay for it we will do it.
“Almost no rail scheme is economic in itself. How it’s economic is the growth it drives.”