Great Western Coffee Shop

This is the statement of funds available (SoFA) for railway control period 6 (April 2019 to March 2024). It sets out for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) the information about the public funds, in respect of England and Wales, that the government is making available during the period.

This is to support delivery of the Secretary of State’s High level output specification (HLOS) provided on 20 July 2017, which is aimed at ensuring that the railway becomes more focused on issues that matter most to its customers.

This SoFA replaces the initial SoFA, which was included in the July 2017 HLOS document. It follows work conducted by government, in consultation with the ORR, to further assure itself that the volumes and costs of operations and maintenance activity will be reasonable and affordable.

The SoFA is a statutory requirement introduced by the Railways Act 2005.

"In the last financial year almost £3.7 billion was sucked out of Network Rail by its top 20 suppliers – predominately labour suppliers. Any additional funding should be considered in that context - if the leakages occur at the current rates some £18.5 billion will be returned to the construction oligarchs over the five years of Control Period 6.

"Extra funding to Network Rail is welcome but must be linked to key issues including, as a top priority, a commitment to stamp out the negative employment practices which have been nurtured on our railways by the private construction sector. The Office of Rail and Road has in the past described these practices as being "not conducive to a safe railway"

"The public sector Network Rail must move away from the short term avarice of the private sector, and the Government cheerleaders in the bosses club the Rail Delivery Group, through ending the rip off of subcontracting and investing in the skills base instead shoring up private shareholders dividends."

Chris Grayling MP

I have today (20 March 2018) launched an invitation for investors who want to invest in rail infrastructure to bring forward proposals for the new southern rail link to Heathrow. In addition they are being invited to propose schemes around the country that could enhance and expand the rail network. Promoters and investors now have 2 months to start working up proposals which are financially credible without government support.

This government is already making the biggest investment in the railway since the Victorian era, delivering better journeys for passengers across the network. However, I want to go further by unlocking new private sector funding to invest in railway infrastructure across the country. This will be in addition to the government’s significant commitment to invest £48 billion in railway infrastructure in the next funding period.

Governments do not have a monopoly on good ideas for the railways. I have been clear that I want the knowledge and expertise of investors and local partners to contribute to delivering new connections, more services and better journeys for passengers.

This approach has already proved effective on a number of roads schemes in the UK. By encouraging innovative ideas and new investment on our railways, we can relieve the burden on taxpayers and fare payers with schemes that match our transport needs, support our economic and housing aspirations and ensure everyone benefits from an enhanced rail network.

Heathrow is a perfect example of how this approach can make a real difference. The department is continuing to work on a western rail link to Heathrow. The proposed southern rail link to Heathrow is an exciting opportunity to harness new and innovative ideas from the private sector and there are already a number of consortia looking to construct it. I am certain that there are other opportunities nationwide for third parties to work with government to improve the railway.

I have published my Guidance for market-led proposals to provide clarity on what government is looking for from these ideas and the process by which it will consider them. I have also published the Rail network enhancements pipeline.

When I published my High level output specification and Statement of funds available for the railway in England and Wales for the next investment period, I made clear that the government was developing a new process for rail enhancements - the ‘Rail network enhancements pipeline’ provides this. This is designed to ensure that future rail projects are planned and scrutinised to deliver maximum value and benefit to rail users and taxpayers.

Taken together this provides a clear framework for how we will improve the way we enhance our railway.

The changes I have outlined today lay the foundations for improving rail access to Heathrow. They also set in motion ambitious proposals on new rail schemes that could deliver significant improvements for passengers across the network and to maintain the record levels of investment this government is delivering in our railways.

Published 20 March 2018