Tomorrow's NR annual meeting - a swan song?

Tomorrow is Network Rail's annual meeting where the company's Members will fail to hold it to account.

Eye offers the following directions and guidance to NR members in advance of the meeting.

Enjoy the moment, savour the food and drink, contribute proportionately to Iain Coucher's farewell present, avoid being seen with Tony Berkeley and don't forget to vote for everything the company proposes.

But it might be wise not to say 'see you next year'...

Meanwhile, back in the real world, don't expect huge interest in NR's CEO vacancy following these wise words from Hammond and McNulty delivered at the latest value for money workshop yesterday:

Petrol-head: "The current set-up is an enormously complex and elaborate structure to deliver pseudo market forces... The passenger is at the margin of influencing things."

McNulty: "Is the current set-up conducive to cost reduction and value for money... (it was) established without reference to these objectives. Radical change is required otherwise the end result will not be very different from what we see today."

One piece of good news.

The post McNulty world looks like affording plenty of free diary time to former NR members and directors alike.

UPDATE: This from Ithuriel...

Make your mind up Sir Roy.

You say:

"Radical change is required otherwise the end result will not be very different from what we see today."

But in the foreword to your recent scoping study you said that the choice is between "changing the way we operate or decreasing the size and the quality of the network."

Which sounds very different "from what we see today"!