Mark Carne to retire from Network Rail

[Sir Felix Pole]

https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/mark-carne-to-retire-from-network-rail

Mark Carne, the chief executive of Network Rail, has advised the Board that he has decided to retire from the company later this year. The timing of his announcement ensures that a new chief executive will be established in the role before the start of the next five year regulatory control period which begins in April 2019.

Mr Carne joined Network Rail in January 2014. During his time as chief executive, he has steered the company through the period of being reclassified into the public sector, and skilfully handled the significant rebasing of the delivery plan that was required following the change in the company's debt structure. He has led a transformational change in Network Rail, which has now been reflected in the whole regulatory structure of the industry, while delivering the biggest projects in the history of the company, such as the iconic London Bridge station, which opened on schedule last month, and Birmingham New Street station in 2015.

Speaking on behalf of the Board, the chairman of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, said:

“Mark has done an outstanding job and I want to applaud him for what he has achieved in his time at Network Rail. His leadership steadied the ship during the challenging transition to a public sector organisation and he has been the architect behind the huge positive changes in the company, driving transformation, devolution and efficiency, with an emphasis on equality and diversity too. Three years ago he set out a strategic vision for a digital railway transformation which is now becoming a reality in our plans. Throughout this he has maintained a determined focus on delivering the biggest upgrades to the railway in a hundred years. Perhaps his biggest legacy, however, is the change in safety culture that he has very personally led and which has done so much to make the railway and our workforce safer.

"Mark and I have discussed the best timing for a transition and I am pleased that he will submit the strategic business plan for the next control period and lead the discussions with the regulator. This is the best plan that Network Rail has ever had and is built from the ground up by our devolved businesses. The timing of his decision also ensures that a new CE will have time to get their feet under the table before the next regulatory period starts. Although we understand and respect his decision, we are all delighted that Mark will continue to lead the company while the Board appoints his successor, and that the planned timing and transition will leave him in charge as we finalise the next control period plan and funding.”

Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport said:

“Mark has done an excellent job as Chief Executive of Network Rail, presiding over the biggest modernisation of our rail infrastructure since Victorian times. He has provided very strong industry leadership on safety and digital rail, and Network Rail has significantly improved the railway for its customers under his direction. His focus on devolving power to Network Rail’s route businesses has built the foundations for a more efficient and passenger-focussed organisation which supports the Government’s agenda to bring track and train closer together. Mark will of course continue to provide great leadership for Network Rail until he steps down in the summer, and I hope he will continue to play an important part in the transport sector in the future.”

Mark Carne commented:

“Britain's railways matter to the lives of millions of people. The men and women who run the railway are enormously committed and it has been a privilege to lead the organisation at a time of huge investment and transformational change. I planned the timing of my announcement so there was stability while we developed the business plan for the next five year regulatory period, but so that there will also enough time for my successor to be firmly in place when it starts. I will leave knowing that the railway is in good hands and has a great plan for the future.”

 

[XDM]

https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/mark-carne-to-retire-from-network-rail

Very good news - if his replacement is more motivated to turn round Network Rail.
Despite having some excellent people lower down the chain it is a failed organisation which has had a profoundly awful effect on the railway industry. I doubt if one new man can improve it.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I'd have said Mark Carne was entirely motivated to turning round Network Rail.
His Routes management devolution is just about to become visible and operational, for CP6.
He had nothing to do with the CP5 funding cycle and its undeliverable business plans, that was David Higgins.
He was also much more visible than his predecessors.
His will be large boots to fill.
If we were to recreate a national rail operation he would be a candidate to run it.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Very good news - if his replacement is more motivated to turn round Network Rail.
Despite having some excellent people lower down the chain it is a failed organisation which has had a profoundly awful effect on the railway industry. I doubt if one new man can improve it.

Can't say I agree with that at all.

Don't get my wrong I am not sat here thinking he was the best thing since sliced bread, but I thought he did a good job in very trying circumstances.

 

[lincolnshire]

Well did he get the lineside cleared up of scrap etc like he said was going to happen just after he arrived? I do actually wonder how often he travelled by train and lookout the windows at the lineside.
He only lasted 4 years in the post.

 

[50031]

I read his interview in RAIL. Nigel Harris reckoned he was doing a good job, making progress in turning around the company, along with Hendy.
Its a big job. Things don't change overnight.

 

[infobleep]

Well he's was leadint from the top, allowing Networo Rail to have 'the best plan that Network Rail has ever had'.

If I were a comedian I'd add at this point 'So he's leaving before it gets implemented'.

In all seriousness I don't know the man but if he's been visible and trying his best to bring about improvemenrs and change, with the funding issues Network Rail has, then that has surely been good.

I do note the press release talks about completing London Bridge on time. That is an achievement. No mention of the Waterloo works last year of course or the regular signalling issues the South West mainline gets. However successes and things that don't go according to plan but still may not be total failure, may not always be due to the man at the top but more the people below. Of course the man at the top is held responsible for the overall success and failure.

 

[yorksrob]

It should be remembered that NR did pretty well at rectifying unexpected emergencies, such as Dawlish and Carlisle under his watch.

 

[bb21]

I think he's done an OK-ish job, nothing spectacular but nothing disastrous, given difficult circumstances. Unfortunately his tenure will be remembered by many as the one under which national performance fell to its lowest point in 11 years, and there is little sign of this improving. Performance trends on some routes absolutely collapsed, and not all can be attributed to external causes.

 

[DarloRich]

Well did he get the lineside cleared up of scrap etc like he said was going to happen just after he arrived? I do actually wonder how often he travelled by train and lookout the windows at the lineside.
He only lasted 4 years in the post.

I despair at this board at times. As if that is the single biggest issue facing NR in the past few years.

BTW - 4 years is a decent run for a top level CEO. Who the government appoint will give a steer as to the future direction of the railways.

 

[HowardGWR]

What do you think is a reasonable salary? I would say £100,000 for any job. The rest would be earned only in bonus for achieving specified targets. The targets chosen would be ones where it might be reasonably supposed that the person concerned had the ability to influence whether they were achieved.

 

[tsr]

Well did he get the lineside cleared up of scrap etc like he said was going to happen just after he arrived? I do actually wonder how often he travelled by train and lookout the windows at the lineside.

I spend a fair chunk of my life looking out of train windows. I’d say there has been a significant improvement in some areas, especially in the last year, but what I’ve been noticing is that the quality of the clearance operation seems to generally be on an upwards course, and this has meant that you get smaller patches cleared each night/weekend/etc., but much more neatly.

A case in point appears to be an area just north of the new footbridge’s worksite at Salfords, which I passed the other day - a really nicely done job with a good level of clearance, as good as any I’ve seen recently - but countered by a sprawling, decrepit aggregates yard the other side of the station, which has basically been barely touched in years.

I can still think of a fair few eyesores, however, where the most I’ve seen might perhaps be a handful of people surveying / assessing, but nothing yet being done. So, one day...

 

[Marklund]

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