My idea to break up Network Rail so there is at least internal competition/benchmarking.

[Meerkat]

Need to break up Network Rail so there is at least internal competition/benchmarking.

 

[MarkyT]

Need to break up Network Rail so there is at least internal competition/benchmarking.

Quite apart from the fact that Crossrail is led by TfL, Network Rail actually manages to deliver hundreds of smaller projects on time and budget for renewals and enhancements, as well as managing engineering standards and operating the railway on a day to day basis safely and efficiently, certainly much better than Railtrack did with its ragtag band of private maintenance contractors. You don't need to break it up completely to allow some competition in managing some larger projects. NR themselves have done this when bringing in some big programme management specialists on fairly large projects such as the very successful Reading Remodelling. How would a Tory government achieve such a break up anyway? You can bet it would be by some kind of further privatisation. Is that what you advocate?

 

[Meerkat]

Separate the regions.
I would be tempted to privatise one, as a test.
The trouble with nationalised stuff is that it is too easy for politicians to demand X, but then not give them enough cash, and there is no punishment when the nationalised supplier fails - no shareholders get burnt, just the taxpayer.