Fall in weather delays erodes rail chief alert

Network boss highlights threat from climate change and pledges to spend £2.8bn to tackle problem

WEATHER-RELATED train disruption has decreased over the past few years despite Network Rail’s boss claiming “climate change is the biggest issue faced by the railways”, The Telegraph can reveal.

The state-owned company said yesterday that it would be spending £2.8billion to help it better cope with extreme weather and climate change.

Its spending plans include training rail staff as “amateur meteorologists” and buying weather forecasting services accurate to within 500 metres.

Yet data analysis by The Telegraph reveals that for the last three years, the share of delays attributed to “weather, autumn and structure” has been falling.

“Weather, autumn and structure” covers delays caused by natural phenomena such as high wind or heavy rain, as well as leaves falling from trees.

The increased climate spending pledge calls into question how wisely Network Rail is spending its £45.4 billion budget for the next five years. In 2020-21 train delays caused by “severe weather, autumn and structures” made up 10.3 per cent of all delay minutes counted by regulators, according to figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) analysed by The Telegraph. By last year that share had fallen to 7.7 per cent – just over a million minutes – out of a total 13.7 million minutes in train delays.

England saw a record amount of rainfall in the 18 months to March. A total of 1,695mm of rain fell during this time, the largest amount since Met Office records began in 1836, while total train delays added up to 13½ million minutes. Of those, 1.9 million – 14 per cent – were attributed to weather.

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s group safety and engineering director, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday: “Climate change is happening right now. It’s affecting the railway with flooding in winter and hotter summers than we’ve ever seen before.”

Andrew Haines, the chief executive, said: “Climate change is the biggest challenge our railway faces. The extreme weather of the past year that has seen an unprecedented 14 named storms, has taken its toll on our railway – with experts predicting more of the same to come.”

The Government is backing the rail company’s plans. Huw Merriman, the transport minister, said: “I am confident the plan set out by Network Rail will help keep our railways on track for the coming years.”

Critics said Network Rail should concentrate on maintaining its infrastructure rather than trendy political causes.

John O’connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers are tired of quixotic quangos trying to save the world rather than addressing problems at home.

“Network Rail is expected to deliver reliable, safe, and high quality railway infrastructure, yet it’s diverting billions of pounds towards solutions to a problem that is having less and less of an impact on the network.”

Craig Mackinlay, of the Conservatives’ net zero scrutiny group, said: “This money appears to be being spent on activities that would need to happen anyway, regardless of climate change.”

Network Rail’s £45.4 billion budget for the next five years is made up mainly of government grants and income from track access fees charged to train companies – themselves mostly funded by the taxpayer.

The company’s other climate-related spending targets include ground movement sensors to pick up when landslides are likely to happen and extra CCTV at high risk flooding sites.

Last year the Government provided £11.9 billion in taxpayer funding to run the railways, including £7.5billion handed directly to Network Rail.