Author: Great Britain: National Audit OfficePublisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780102969658
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 40
Book Description
Limitations in Network Rail's information on its own costs are hampering the ability of the Office of Rail Regulation (the Regulator) to judge the genuineness of the efficiency savings reported by Network Rail. This report acknowledges that the Regulator has significantly developed the methods it uses to judge efficiency. Its targets have demanded substantial improvements from Network Rail. Network Rail has made efficiency savings of 27 per cent in the five years to 2008-09, equivalent to £1.8 billion in that final year. This was below the Regulator's target of 31 per cent, although this was still an achievement when compared to savings in other regulated industries. The Regulator has determined that substantial scope remains for Network Rail to improve its efficiency, estimating that maintenance and renewal activities were 34 per cent to 40 per cent less efficient than the most efficient European rail infrastructure managers in 2008. The Regulator estimates that Network Rail can achieve further efficiency savings of 21 per cent in the five years to March 2014 - equivalent to spending £940 million less in 2013-14 than the forecast for that year without efficiency gains. However, there are continuing limitations in the robustness and coverage of Network Rail's unit cost information. These need to be addressed promptly to improve confidence that future efficiency targets accurately reflect Network Rail's potential for sustainable savings, as the efficiency gap narrows, and that reported savings correctly reflect efficiency gains actually achieved.
