A new era unfurls #3

Good news for the West Coast Main Line.

According to Transport Briefing yesterday:

Network Rail is to pump a further £50m into the West Coast Route Modernisation amid mounting embarrassment that the line is the most unreliable in Britain despite a £9bn upgrade.

Interestingly a reader suggests that as at 15:30 yesterday Virgin's press office were completely unsighted on the plans.

No matter.

Meanwhile delays look set to get worse before they get better.

Apparently Network Rail are to replace 290 sets of points that were not replaced during the original upgrade!

The announcement of the extra spend is perhaps unfortunate, especially as NR has already committed £2.4m on a splendid advertising campaign to tell us how the project had been succesfully completed.

All of which inevitably draws attention back to the thorny issue of Network Rail bonuses.

The Eye gave credit to Coucher for surrendering his annual bonus, but now fears that this may not be enough.

As the WCML Upgrade is turning into a costly farce for TOCs and taxpayer alike can Network Rail really reward its already well renumerated directors with bonuses running into six figures?

Bonuses which will be seen, even if unfairly, as a reward for failure.

UPDATE: This just in from J Alfred Prufrock...

If Network Rail spends £50 million on the Worst Corporately Managed Line because people caused a fuss then perhaps ORR's fines need to be recalibrated to get serious action.

How about adding a nought to the number 1200 grade* first thought of.

*1200 grade is the smoothest and least abrasive Emery paper.