UK: The Office of Rail & Road has issued eight recommendations to improve the management of railway performance, following a review of the joint performance strategies produced by train operating companies with Network Rail.
ORR decided to conduct the review earlier this year, citing a range of punctuality and reliability issues.
The regulator found that the overall quality of the 19 active strategies had improved since an informal review in 2021. There was a good understanding of the network’s problems and commitments to improve, but there was scope for better sharing of best practice.
The recommendations are:
1: The process for the production and finalisation of joint performance strategies should be reviewed by Network Rail and operators, to ensure there is a common commitment to achieving timely sign-off;
2: Network Rail should review on a case-by-case basis whether to engage with open access and freight operators to produce joint performance strategies. As part of this it should identify if either a standalone strategy or a collective strategy with one lead route (for example East Coast Route with Grand Central, Hull Trains and Lumo or Freight & National Passenger Operators with freight operators) might be appropriate;
3: Network Rail Routes/operators with a ‘no’ or ‘partly’ assessment in areas of generally positive coverage should consider how to source good practice and cover these areas in the next iteration of their joint performance strategy;
4: Network Performance Board (via the Performance Improvement Management System Governance Board) should consider how to ensure good practice on benefits management is shared, to strengthen this area ahead of the 2024-25 strategies;
5: Network Performance Board (via the PIMS Governance Board) should consider how to improve consistent application of the ‘hopper of projects’ approach described in the good practice guide, to strengthen this area ahead of the 2024-25 strategies;
6: Network Performance Board to consider how to focus development of consistent leading indicators that can be used across the network;
7: Network Performance Board (via the PIMS Governance Board) should consider how best to promote more consistent adoption of Risk Management Maturity Model for Performance and the PIMS Capability Framework within joint performance strategies.
8: A further peer review of joint performance strategies should be undertaken by PIMS practitioners, to draw examples of good practice and consider whether the Good Practice Guide should be updated for the 2024-25 strategies.
Commenting on the review, ORR’s Director of Planning & Performance Feras Alshaker said on June 23 ‘we expect our recommendations to be taken up by the industry to strengthen its approach to performance planning, which in turn should help punctuality and reliability.
‘However, having a thorough strategy document is only the start. These strategies must be implemented by Network Rail and Train Operators successfully.’
