The Case of the Silent Krankie

The scene: A room at 221b Baker Street...

I am sure Watson, that you will have noted the significance of the Scottish Statement of Funds Available

But Holmes, the Scottish SoFA has yet to be published

That, Watson, is the significance!

Money behind SoFA bigger than expected!

Much rejoicing over the size of the Statement of Funds Available!

A cool £48bn for CP6, and apparently almost all of it on OMR.

Plaudits to RIA, RSG, RDG, RFG, RFEM, NR etc… for a job well done.

The devil of course will be in the detail!

Meanwhile, supply chain colleagues, SHARPEN YOUR PENCILS!

And then sharpen them again. And possibly still further!

Alas, there is a dark cloud…

Cynical Eye readers have been asking whether the disclaimer found on the government website this morning, announcing the SoFA allows DfT wriggle room?

Worrying if true!

Sofa broken and HLOS missing

Well, well, well!

An UnHLOS, no enhancements and no Statement of Funds Available!

1. initial Statement of Funds Available (SoFA), which will be subject to finalisation by 13 October 2017, following the further work described below. 
   

Not only are there no enhancements but OMR is also looking highly dodgy:

0. Operations, Maintenance and Renewal
1. 6  The Secretary of State accepts the advice provided to him by the ORR on the need for increased volumes of renewals compared to CP5, to improve on the outcomes delivered in the context of rising demand and better meet user priorities. However, in the context of overall public spending he is concerned about the affordability of the initial cost estimates, which do not contain an allowance for efficiencies, particularly of operations and maintenance. He is therefore initiating work to provide further assurance on the costs of these activities to provide confidence in setting the level of public funding available to the railway in order to confirm a final SoFA. 

The Revised Guidance from the Secretary of State to the ORR published at the same time also makes interesting reading. A clear could do better!

A three pipe problem Watson!

Right Time Departure Please!

This from Thebel Tolzforze...

A small reminder, for anyone who might be interested?

Under the terms of the Railways Act 2005: the DfT has until midnight Thursday to let the Office of Rail and Road have the High Level Output Specification and Statement of Funds Available for Network Rail, covering Control Period 6, which starts on 1 April 2019.

Thought we'd mention it, just in case it had slipped anyone's mind?

What with all that HS2 excitement an' all.

Periodic Review 18 v Corporate Memory 0

This from Gilbert Ratchett...

Now that the Office of Rail Regulation has published the Initiation Notice for Periodic Review 2018, the phoney war of consultation documents is over and the Government has to say what it wants (the High Level Output Specification) and how much money it can scrape together to pay for what it wants (the Statement of Funds Available).

And there is now a firm deadline for delivery of these documents - better known as the HLOS and SoFA . And that date is 20 July.

Which, from past experience of Periodic Reviews, is when the infighting between the railway industry and its political and regulatory overlords gets serious. And talking of experience, Eye can't help but notice that not one member of the Network Rail Executive Board which over-saw the 2013 Periodic Review remains in post.

As the Periodic Review is all about Network Rail's funding, this total loss of corporate memory in five years means raw recruits are being thrown into the battle that will determine the railways' future.

Year Zero and trebles all round!