Network Rail has paid out hundreds of thousand of pounds in bonuses that were withheld in the wake of the fatal Cumbria rail crash in February (links below.)
http://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/11/network_rail_pays_out_bonuses.html#morehttp://www.rmtbristol.org.uk/2007/11/invest_for_rail_growth_and_bri.html#moreIn May , under pressure from passenger groups and unions , the company deferred bonus payments to executives worth £300,000 and suspended bonuses of £400 each to 119 workers being investigated over the crash.
It emerged yesterday that it has now paid a total of £286,074 to senior executives and up to £100,000 to front-line staff and their managers. The remuneration committee took the decision to make the awards in October , after the completion of the company’s internal investigation into why a Virgin train crashed at 95 mph. A British Transport Police investigation is continuing.
The rail group , which returned to the black last year for the first time since it was formed in 2002 , reported an interim pretax profit of £780 million , an increase of 4 per cent on last year’s figure. Ian McAllister , chairman of Network Rail , said: “The rail industry has never seen anything like this. We are seeing modal shift and massive passenger growth, not just in London, but in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle."
“It’s due to a combination of efforts by us and the train-operating companies. It’s partly because there are more trains available, new trains that are attractive, a remarkable improvement in punctuality and the congestion on the roads,” Mr McAllister said.
He added that Network Rail was prepared for various growth scenarios , as increases in passenger numbers outstrip all expectations.
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