The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has found Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd to be in breach of its Network Licence for poor performance on the Wales & Western Region – and could fine the company £3 million if it does not meet the requirements of its final order.
Its finding follows an investigation into worsening performance in the region since 2021 which has been steeper than other NR regions. Delays attributed to the infrastructure manager were also worse than pre-pandemic levels, according to the regulator.
Since the ORR started its investigation in November 2023, Rob Cairns has succeeded Michelle Handforth as Regional Director for Wales & Western and a performance improvement plan known as Project Brunel started to address issues identified.
In a letter to NR Chief Executive Andrew Haines, the ORR said the company had contravened condition 1 of its network licence by ‘failing to achieve to the greatest extent reasonably practicable hav…
