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Archive
2004-02-04 SRA-001
Strategic Rail Authority
SRA welcomes National Audit Office rolling stock report
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PN: 09/04
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Press release
Strategic Rail Authority
SRA welcomes National Audit Office rolling stock report
In a statement today, the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) gave its initial reaction to the National Audit Office (NAO) report Strategic Rail Authority: improving passenger rail services through new trains.
The Authority highlighted that, under its stewardship, by 2005 the average age of rolling stock will have fallen from 23 to 14 years.
Of the 4540 new vehicles ordered since 1997, representing £4.2 billion of investment in the industry, over 2020 are now operational.
In many cases, the SRA has been instrumental in easing the new trains into service.
The Authority confirmed that, since the NAO began the review in 2002, it had undertaken the following measures:
Published its rolling stock strategy (December 2003), which identifies specific areas where the Authority will lead and drive forward industry wide co-operation;
Introduced new franchise agreements, including that for the recently awarded Greater Anglia Franchise, focused on delivery performance, with train reliability a key component. The Authority has worked with the industry to develop industry wide initiatives, such as the National Rail Performance Plan;
Since March 2003, the SRA has chaired a cross-industry Standards Strategy Group considering safety, technical and economic issues affecting the development of standards and regulations in the rail industry. It is also engaged in facilitating consistency in the application of technical standards, working closely with the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB);
It has created a new Technical Directorate, which has given the SRA the ability to exert a strategic technical influence on industry procurement, design, reliability and maintenance;
It has restructured the SRA Operations Directorate to better manage the performance of the Train Operating Companies with a greater emphasis on customer focus and removing commercial disincentives;
By Summer 2004, the Authority will be publishing information on current deployment and characteristics of Train Operating Companies fleets and criteria on which future rolling stock demand is assessed.
Notes to Editors
1. The NAO published 'Strategic Rail Authority: improving passenger rail services through new trains' on the 4 February 2004.
2. The SRA published its Rolling Stock Strategy on the 19 December 2003
3. SRA Chairman, Richard Bowker, will be giving evidence to the Public Accounts Committee addressing the finding of this report in March 2004
Railnews Archive ::: 2004-02-04 SRA-001
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