Transparency data

Measurement template

Updated 19 February 2015

Table

Field	Notes
Short title	Cost of running the rail network
Technical definition	Two components are included for this indicator: a) Total costs incurred by DfT franchised operators including Track Access Charges and Performance Regime Payments. This excludes any premia paid or subsidy received. b) An allocation of the Network Grant (that is, payments made by DfT directly to Network Rail).
Rationale	This indicator has been designed to give the public information about the operating cost of running the railway network, which include costs incurred by DfT franchised train operators and also the grant paid to Network Rail as part of the government subsidising the railways.
Formula	a) Operating Costs Operating costs are taken from ORR’s GB Rail Industry Financial Information 2014 to 2015 publication, which used cost data from train operators’ management accounts b) Network Grant This is calculated by taking the total Network Grant, apportioned according to each franchise’s share of Fixed Track Access Charges - charged by Network Rail to run trains on the network. Example: c2c In 2011/12, c2c accounted for 1.3% of total Fixed Track Access Charges paid to Network Rail (excluding First Scotrail) 1.3% of the Network Grant = £42.8m
Start date	October 2011
Latest data	Financial Year 2014 to 2015
Behavioural impact	N/A
Comparability	Comparisons across franchises need to be made with great care: The level of service provision varies greatly from franchise to franchise Some operators may treat some aspects of costs differently Changes to franchise boundaries may make year‐on‐year comparisons difficult
Collection frequency	Annual
Time lag	Varies
Data source	a) Train operating companies’ costs taken from ORR publication: GB Rail Industry Financial Information 2014 to 2015. b) Network Grant data are from DfT’s accounts. Fixed Track Access Charges are published by ORR. This information can also be found in DfT’s rail subsidy per passenger mile indicator.
Type of data	a) Operating costs are sourced primarily from operator management accounts. b) Network Grant data appear in DfT’s audited published accounts.
Robustness and data limitations	Although we have aimed to be as consistent as possible, operators may not treat all aspects of operating costs in the same way in their accounts, and so care should be taken when using these figures. There is no recognised rule for allocating the Network Grant across franchises. Using Fixed Track Access Charges to allocate the grant by train operator is an appropriate rule, albeit somewhat arbitrary. This differs from the method used by ORR in its GB Rail Industry Financial Information reports.
Collecting organisation	Who collects and/or calculates the measure? a) Operating costs are calculated by the operators themselves and recorded in their management accounts. ORR uses these management accounts to calculate costs for each operator. b) The allocation of the Network Grant has been calculated by DfT.
Return format	£ millions
Geographical coverage	DfT franchised train operators (Great Britain)
How indicator can be broken down	By franchised train operator