'Coronavirushasnot threatenedcapital expenditure',saysNR'sAndrew Haines
THEcostof supporting franchisedservicesby the Governmenthasnot impacted on capitalspendingby NetworkRail.
Thisisthe messagecompany chiefexecutiveAndrewHaines gaveto journalistsduringan internetconferenceon June8.
Heconfirmedpassenger flows hadbeen'peaky'with the volumeof passengernsot outstrippingdemand,and addedthe railwayneedsto focuson the four'R'sasit bids to recoverbackto preCovid-19 situation:respond,rebuild, reviveand renew.
Hefelt the railwayhaddone verywell to run a limited timetableirrespectiveof how manypassengerws erecarried.
Nextwould comethe rebuildingof the timetable, with the operationof 80-85% of the full timetablefrom July6,with demandchanging if,for example,distancing is reducedto a metreas predicted.
Thereis an inherent reluctancefor passengertso travel,Mr Hainessaid.
Healsofeelssomemight not return,andthe industry couldnot takepassengerfsor granted.
Mr Hainesadmittedthat with a reliabletimetableandflexible ticketingit would persuade thoseon the fenceto return.
Complexfares
Hewasof the view that placingoperationriskon train operatorswaspart of the reasonwhy fareswereso complex,andat the current time,the privatesectorwould not acceptthe financialrisk.
Duringthe periodof reducedtraffic,MrHainessaid NetworkRailhaddonea lot of infrastructurework,suchas completinga two-weekproject at KilsbyTunneiln 10days, addinghefelt moreprojects could be done morecheaply, with the companystillfocusing on drivingcostsdown.
Mr HainessaidduringApril and May,NetworkRailhad spent£1billion on renewaland enhancementsa,ddingthere wasunlikelyto be anypart of the economythat managedto sustainthat levelof investment duringthe pandemic
Forthe future,he said emphasisneedsto beon decarbonisationschemes, citingthe needto extend the MidlandMainLine electrificationbeyondMarket Harboroughi,nfill schemes, andeventhe resurrectionof electrificationfrom Didcot, northwardsthroughOxfordto Coventryand the WCML.
NetworkRail'sdevolutionto the regionswasprogressing, and he expectedthis would movefurther forward in Augustor September.