Network Rail: making a fresh start : twenty-eighth report of session 2004-05, report, together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence

The Committee took evidence from the Department of Transport, and the Strategic Rail Authority on the establishment of Network Rail in place of Railtrack and the subsequent review of the rail industry.

The report considers the issues raised in the NAO report (HC 532, Session 2003-04) and how they have been addressed by the subsequent White Paper.

There are five main conclusions: the Department will need to set strategy more effectively than was done by the SRA; the Department needs to recruit staff capable of dealing with the highest levels of the railway industry; Network Rail should develop long term financial indicators to show it is meeting objectives in a cost effective way; the Department should establish effective oversight of the risks associated with Network Rail's financial liabilities; the Government should justify the extra cost of private finance rather than conventional public funding for Network Rail.