ORR survey shows “strong” Network Rail engagement

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) says its annual assessment of how Network Rail engages with its stakeholders shows a “strong performance” in the past year, although overall satisfaction “has dipped slightly”.

Of NR’s 3,200 stakeholders, only 9% (288) responded to the ORR’s ‘satisfaction survey’ which, while up on last year, is “at the lower range of our expectations,” says the regulator.

ORR’s survey assessed how well NR performed against the four overarching principles of good stakeholder engagement defined in its licence from ORR: inclusive, transparent, wellgoverned and effective.

When asked to rate the quality of NR’s overall engagement, 60% rated it as ‘good ‘or ‘very good’, a drop of 13% from last year.

Overall, the assessment shows that Network Rail’s performance on stakeholder engagement “remains strong,” says the ORR.

The ORR commissioned Opinion Research Services to run an online survey of stakeholders from March 21 to April 19. It assessed stakeholder engagement for each of NR’s five regions, the System Operator (SO) and Freight and National Passenger Operators (FNPO) (which together it calls the ‘relevant business units’).

There were no significant differences between business units in terms of performance, although units had different areas of strength and areas for further development.

The ORR has repeated its recommendation from last year’s report that NR’s Senior Leadership Team and Board “drive a strong culture of stakeholder engagement while continuing to support locallytailored engagement across the relevant business units”.

It adds: “This will be particularly important as we move through the crucial next phases of ORR’s ongoing periodic review (PR23) of NR’s outputs and funding for the next five-year control period.”

ORR also encourages Network Rail to continue to share best practice on stakeholder engagement between the business units.