Recommendation 26

In 2020, the Office of Rail and Road reported inherent uncertainty in the value of some of the efficiency savings made by Network Rail in 2019–20.69 The Office of Rail and Road told us that it has now agreed a set of indicators with Network Rail which measure the likelihood of Network Rail meeting its efficiency targets for the Control Period. It also told us that Network Rail’s regional management information has improved, enabling a better understanding of relative performance. Despite these improvements, the Office of Rail and Road reiterated the large scale of the challenge faced by Network Rail in achieving its efficiency target for Control Period 6.70 68 Office of Rail and Road, ORR’s review of Network Rail’s RF11 delivery plan update for the financial year 2021–22, March 2021 69 Office of Rail and Road, Annual efficiency and finance assessment of Network Rail 2019–20, July 2020, p5 70 Q 34 16 Overview of the English rail system