11/2015
Big delays and cost overruns have left Network Rail in a hole. The Shaw Review is consulting on the future of the organisation with options including breaking it up and even privatisation.

The Shaw Review is one of three Government reviews looking at every aspect of Network Rail. These were set when the scale of the mess Network Rail had got itself in over recent years became apparent. Problems with schemes including the electrification of Great Western had made the organisation’s £38bn work programme look unachievable.

Now, with the two reviews looking at current and future work programmes having offered a glimpse of a brighter future, Nicola Shaw’s review of Network Rail’s structure has reached a key stage. It asks big questions about long term planning, who Network Rail’s customers are, what accountability should look like, and how it should respond to devolution.

The stakes could hardly be higher…