Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his oral statement of 25 June 2015, Official Report, columns 1067-8, whether Network Rail will be liable to incur fines or other penalties in respect of (a) changes to the projects Network Rail is expected to deliver in Control Period 5 compared to the 2012 High Level Output specification and (b) variations to the Regulated Outputs Network Rail was committed to meeting relating to Midland Main Line electrification and TransPennine electrification as a result of the changes announced in that statement.

The imposition of fines and penalties in relation to Network Rail’s regulated outputs a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Separately to the Secretary of State’s announcement of 25 June, the ORR is undertaking a review of Networks Rail’s overall planning, management and delivery of the first year of the Control Period 5 enhancement programme to establish whether formal enforcement action would be appropriate. Further details regarding that investigation can be found at:

http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/18052/investigation-into-nr-enhancements-programme.pdf

and

http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/18053/tor-orr-investigation-into-nr-planning-and-delivery-of-enhancement-projects.pdf