Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to sell Network Rail to the train operating companies following the failure of the signalling system on the Great Western Rail line between Hereford and London Paddington on 21 July 2014.

On 1 September Network Rail was reclassified to the public sector and the Department and Network Rail published a Framework Agreement setting out their new relationship. Reclassification is an independent statistical decision that does not change the structure of the rail industry. The Framework Agreement represents Government policy on Network Rail and there are no plans to change this.

Following its reclassification, Network Rail is now an arm’s-length public sector body. The reliability of the signalling systems on its Western Route remains an operational matter for the company.

Network Rail advises that a signalling failure at Worcester in the early morning of 21 July caused considerable delay to both First Great Western services to London and to London Midland services to Birmingham. Normal working was restored around midday. To address issues with the reliability of the mechanical signalling in the Worcester area, Network Rail has provided an additional maintenance team based at Worcester which is working to address underlying causes of poor reliability.