Covid-19 hits NR’s delivery plan

The Office of Rail and Road has waived the requirement for Network Rail to make its delivery plan for 2020/21 publicly available because of Covid-19. “We recognise that Network Rail’s plans and targets will be significantly affected by current events and are expected to require review and reprioritisation,” says Carl Hetherington, the ORR’s deputy director for railway markets and economics, in a letter to Charles Robarts, Network Rail’s director of planning and regulation. NR was required to submit detailed plans for 2020/21 to the ORR, the DfT and Transport Scotland by 31 March, but on the understanding that they will require revision and will not therefore be made public.