From the
Daily Telegraph:
Rail passengers have been hit by delays caused by the wrong type of snow and within weeks leaves on the line will be back. Now it appears there is a new threat to the smooth running of trains across the country ^ the sun.
The latest report by Office of Rail Regulation, covering April to July, showed delays went up during the hottest days of the summer because of the "impact of warm weather".
Its findings were a fresh embarrassment for the company, which was also found to be far less efficient than its western European counterparts.
According to the ORR» a rise in temperature means that some equipment ^ including cabling, signalling systems and electrical items overheated. Network Rail, which maintains the country's track infrastructure, admitted life gets difficult when the temperature rises above 86F (30C). Overhead power lines can sag and rails buckle, meaning that speed restrictions have to be imposed to prevent a train coming off the track.
A passenger watchdog voiced exasperation at the latest excuses from Network Rail.
^Long-suffering passengers will wonder why the railways seem unable to cope with sun and heat in summer, in the same way wind, rain and cold weather seems to surprise them every year.^ said Jo de Bank, spokesman for London TravelWatch.
Louise Ellman, chairman of the Transport Select Committee, added: "It seems as if there is an excuse for all seasons."
Network Rail defended its handling of the latest weather threat to its operations.
^Rail is actually the best of any transport mode at coping with weather extremes thanks to the innovation and attention to detail from Network Rail and the operators, which has significantly reduced such delays," a spokesman said. The days of sweeping speed restrictions across the south due to very hot weather are well behind us.^
In a separate study the ORR said that Network Rail was 34 to 40 per cent less efficient than its major European counterparts when it came to maintaining and renewing track infrastructure. It lagged behind, among others, railways in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and Ireland. This meant that passengers and taxpayers, who share the cost of running the railway, had to bear the cost, said Bill Emery, the ORR'S chief executive.
"As NR» is a national monopoly, we benchmark the company against its international counterparts. Our work confirms that there is a significant efficiency gap. We will now compare and publish the company's efficiency against its peers annually."
Even before the international comparisons were published, Network Rail has been under pressure to improve efficiency. This is likely to intensify following the Government's comprehensive spending review, when the Department for Transport's budget's is expected to be squeezed particularly hard. Network Rail has already been told to cut 21 per cent from its operating costs by 2014. So far it has shaved 3.6 per cent from its budget and, in doing so, came close to triggering a national strike by members of the RMT▸ transport union. Network Rail said it accepted the need to bring costs down, adding that it had already delivered savings of ^6 billion.
A spokesman added: "The legacy of years of underinvestment meant we have started this race from well behind our European counterparts but we are fast catching up, with the ORR now measuring us against our best performing neighbours."
