Great Western Coffee Shop

2.Timetabling Inquiry
The Secretary of State for Transport announced on 4 June 2018 work to set up an inquiry by the Office of Rail and Road, chaired by Stephen Glaister, into the May 2018 timetable implementation. The Inquiry is being conducted under Section 51 of the Railways Act 2005.

The Inquiry is taking contributions from a wide range of industry bodies and others responsible for operation of the railway and those representing the interests of passengers including Transport Focus and other rail users. Contributions are welcome to the Inquiry email address: timetable.inquiry@orr.gov.uk.

Dear Stakeholder,

I wanted to alert you to the fact that ORR has today required Network Rail to take four actions immediately to improve services for passengers after an investigation found systemic failings in the company’s general management of timetable changes.

ORR’s investigation identified failings and we now require Network Rail to take specific actions to provide more assurance around the December 2018 and May 2019 timetables, to boost Network Rail’s timetabling capability and to conclude on structural reforms in Network Rail.

The issues highlighted by ORR, and the associated actions follow below:

An immediate priority is the successful delivery of the December 2018 timetable, which is reliant on an effective and transparent process.
Action: Network Rail to provide a report to ORR by 31 August demonstrating how it is running an efficient, fair, effective and transparent process in revising upcoming timetables. ORR will assess progress, and report on this.

The revision of the December 2018 timetable means it will take longer to recover normal timescales for notifying changes to the timetable, but it is essential to establish this process as soon as possible.
Action: Network Rail to revise its recovery plan by 31 August to get timetables back to being agreed 12 weeks in advance (T-12) and for it to publicly report on progress. This will include details of any late notice changes being considered and the reasons for those changes.

Network Rail’s timetabling resources and capability were, and continue to be, put under pressure by the increased scale of both short and long-term planning changes. Resourcing and capability of both Network Rail and industry planning teams is a risk to the delivery of future timetables.
Action: Network Rail to accelerate progress on ORR-approved plans to strengthen timetabling capability and resources, including specific indicators against which ORR will publicly report Network Rail’s progress. Network Rail will provide a first draft to us by 17 September.

There needs to be better coordination between the part of Network Rail carrying out the work (Infrastructure Projects) - and its timetabling function (System Operator).
Action: Network Rail to speed up decisions on structural reform and provide ORR with a draft plan by 30 September. 


ORR’s action comes after we opened an investigation In February 2018 into why Network Rail was unable to finalise timetables 12 weeks in advance. This investigation preceded the official ORR-led inquiry into May timetable disruption, which looks at all bodies involved in the May timetable change and remains ongoing, with interim conclusions expected in September. If you wish to contribute to this inquiry please email timetable.inquiry@orr.gov.uk

Best wishes,

Jxxxxxx Wxxxxx
Head of External Engagement

There's another thread on this to which I have replied....

I think the deadlines imposed on NR are really tight - the main reason for the chaos is that they relocated the timetable department to their HQ in Milton Keynes from London and many staff refused to relocate. Recruiting is presumably ongoing, but many, many years of experience were lost...how on earth they can meet deadlines such as September I don't know