Periodic review 2023 of Network Rail: draft determination
Assessment of Network Rail’s plans with respect to its operation, support, maintenance and renewal of the national rail network in control period 7.
Detail
The Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR) periodic review process is one of the principal mechanisms by which it holds Network Rail to account and secures value for money for users and funders of the railway.
ORR’s focus during the 2023 periodic review (PR23) has remained on:
- safety
- performance
- asset sustainability
- efficiency
- it sets out ORR’s views on Network Rail’s plans for spending £44.8 billion for Britain’s rail network (£40.0 billion for England and Wales, £4.8 billion for Scotland) from April 2024 to March 2029 - the period known as control period 7 (CP7)
- ORR’s assessment identifies that while Network Rail’s plans largely deliver against government priorities, a greater focus is needed on train performance and renewing core assets
- better train performance will benefit passengers and freight customers, while core assets like track, structures and earthworks need to be resilient, especially with the challenges presented by climate change