The Shaw Report into the future of Network Rail has been published and the findings will be considered by the government with a full response issued later in the year. The key objectives of the report were to explore how to give the railway industry a local/customer focus, establish financial discipline, recommend how to protect the safety and integrity of national infrastructure and how to create and retain a skilled workforce.
A summary of the report’s key recommendations which are focused on three core areas; Customers, Devolution and Growth are detailed below:
- Place the needs of the passengers and the freight shippers at the heart of rail infrastructure management
- Focus on the customer through deeper route devolution, supported by independent regulation
- Create a route for the North
- Clarify the government’s role in the railway and Network Rail
- Plan the railway based on customer, passenger and freight needs
- Explore new ways of paying for growth in passengers and freight on the railway
- Develop industry-wide plans to develop skills and improve diversity
A full version of the report can be found here.