The
Office
of
Rail
and
Road


has
published
a
letter
it
has
sent
to
Network
Rail,
in
which
it
warns
that
the
condition
of
infrastructure
like
bridges
and
tunnels
is
not
being
monitored
properly,
to
the
point
where
Network
Rail
is
now
being
told
to
take
‘specific
actions’
to
comply
with
health
and
safety
law.

The
letter,
from
HM
chief
inspector
of
railways
Richard
Hines,
is
addressed
to
Network
Rail’s
group
safety
and
engineering
director
Martin
Frobisher.

It
is
a
follow-up
to
the
ORR’s
review
of
submissions
made
by
Network
Rail
in
November,
and
‘confirms
the
regulatory
action
that
we
are
taking
as
a
result.
In
summary,
we
are
not
satisfied
with
the
progress
being
made.’

The
ORR
first
expressed
concern
about
the
monitoring
of
structures
almost
two
years
ago,
in
May
2023.
Its
letter
continues:
‘In
July
2024,
we
reported
mixed
progress
at
the
end
of
CP6.
While
regions
such
as Eastern
were
on
track
with
their
recovery
trajectories,
others,
such
as
North-West
&
Central
and
Southern,
did
not
show
significant
improvement.’

Mr
Hines
says:
‘A
lack
of
up-to-date
structural
assessments
means
that
you
lack
essential
information
about
your
assets.
This
could
affect
your
ability
to
make
appropriate
decisions
about
the
management
of
your
infrastructure.
This
could
lead
to
unaddressed
risks
to
train
performance
and
public
safety.
Additionally,
the
failure
to
conduct
risk
assessments
for
all
assets
that
are
non-compliant
with
your
own
standards
means
that
you
cannot
demonstrate
that
any
resultant
safety
risks
are
being
identified
and
managed.’

Although
Network
Rail
had
made
proposals
about
recovering
the
backlog,
Mr
Hines
continues:
‘
These
proposals
lack
sufficient
detail
to
give
confidence
that
they
will
be
delivered,
and
recovery
periods
are
unacceptably
long.’

A
further
letter
is
expected
which
will
set
out
the
actions
that
Network
Rail
must
take
in
order
to
comply
with
health
and
safety
law.
Mr
Hines
concludes:
‘Failure
to
take
these
actions
will
likely
result
in
enforcement
action
being
taken
without
further
recourse.’

The
ORR
said:
‘We
are
not
satisfied
that
Network
Rail
is
doing
all
that
it
should
to
meet
its
own
standards
of
recording
and
monitoring
all
of
its
assets.
That
is
why
we
have
taken
action,
which
Network
Rail
is
taking
seriously.’

Martin
Frobisher
responded:
‘We
have
a
comprehensive
plan
in
place
for
the
delivery
of
our
structures
inspections
and
assessments.
Progress
has
been
made
but
there
is
still
much
more
to
do,
and
we
are
working
closely
with
the
ORR
and
our
regional
engineers
to
prioritise
this
activity
and
move
forward
with
our
plans.’

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