Network Rail chief executive Sir Andrew Haines has said he expects the second year of the body\u2019s \u00a345bn five-year funding cycle will go \u201cmore smoothly\u201d.<\/p>\n
It comes after industry figures expressed dissatisfaction at the speed in which rail work was flowing through to suppliers.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, a number of firms blamed project delays in Network Rail\u2019s Control Period 7 (CP7) for lower-than-expected profit levels.<\/p>\n
CP7 started on 1 April last year and runs until the end of March 2029. Network Rail has\u00a0promised to spend more than \u00a345bn<\/a>\u00a0in the period, to boost safety, reliability and other metrics.<\/p>\n \u201cYear two will definitely be smoother,\u201d Haines told Construction News<\/em>.<\/p>\n He said the \u201cslow start\u201d was due to the group experiencing \u201csignificant\u201d inflation of up to 40 per cent on components such as steel and rising quotes from suppliers.<\/p>\n Haines said Network Rail spent up to \u00a3900m more in the first few months of CP7 than it did for CP6, but that the higher costs meant fewer main contracts were awarded.<\/p>\n He also said that Network Rail had overspent during the final year of CP6, meaning that money had been drawn forward from the initial period of CP7.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cIf you average the two years\u2019 spending then they look completely unremarkable.\u201d But he admitted fewer main contracts had been awarded in the first year of CP7<\/p>\n \u201cThe supply chain had the money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In January, engineering services giant Renew blamed<\/a>\u00a0rail project delays for lower-than-expected profit levels, while tools and equipment firm Speedy Hire said in a trading statement in February that a \u201cdelay in CP7 rail works\u201d had impacted its business.<\/p>\n Regulator the Office of Road and Rail warned of \u201cmounting pressures on CP7 funding\u201d in its annual financial efficiency report, published last October.<\/p>\n