First British railway supervisory boards set up

Network Rail (NR), together with Virgin Trains, Abellio (the winner of the West Midlands franchise), and Chiltern Railways, have appointed Mr Geoff Inskip to chair two independent supervisory boards being set up to oversee business performance and help attract external investors covering two areas of NR’s London North Western route.

Inskip will chair the West Coast and West Midlands supervisory board as well as the Chiltern board. The boards will report every quarter to provide the London North Western route with rigorous oversight and challenge. They will focus on the interaction between track and train and a long-term strategy, which will include helping to win external funding to increase capacity.

“Working with rail industry partners and stakeholders, I’m looking forward to helping bring together track and train in an integrated approach to drive improvements for passengers and business,” Inskip says.

Mr Martin Frobisher, managing director of NR’s London North Western route business, says the supervisory boards are “a pivotal step towards our transformation into one truly customer-focused railway team.” He expects the supervisory boards to hold NR and the operators “firmly to account.”

Source: railjournal.com