Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions in each of the last five years Network Rail has faced financial penalties as a consequence of poor performance disrupting services on (a) Greater Anglia routes and (b) each other route.

The Track Access Contracts between Network Rail and train operators provide for Network Rail to pay compensation to an operator in the event that train services cannot operate or are delayed due to engineering works or disruption outside that operator's control.　 The Department does not hold details of the timing or number of such payments, which are a commercial matter between the parties directly concerned, overseen by the Office of Rail Regulation.　 The Office of Rail Regulation publishes the annual totals of these payments at route level on its data portal:

https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/displayreport/report/html/345da3b9-b9ac-449a-aace-8298c5b39e2b

In addition, the Office of Rail Regulation is currently considering whether or not Network Rail should face a penalty in respect of its failure to meet its regulatory targets for the performance of Long Distance and London and South East services during 2013-14.