Economic research services

Tender description

Phase 2 of the rail industry performance regime (Schedule 8) recalibration for Control Period 6. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is currently in the process of its 2018 Periodic Review of Network Rail (PR18). This will set the outputs and funding for Network Rail for Control Period 6 (CP6) which will run from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2024. As part of this process, ORR is reviewing the structure of the Schedule 8 regime. Schedule 8 is the industry performance regime, whereby Train Operating Companies (TOCs) are held financially neutral to the long-term revenue impact of fluctuations in performance which they are not directly responsible for. For the Schedule 8 regime to provide appropriate compensation to TOCs, it is important that the regime is calibrated correctly. In PR18, the Schedule 8 regime will be recalibrated to provide an estimation of the impact of performance on revenue and the relative performance that should be expected from different parts of the network. The PR18 recalibration should also reflect changes to the structure and design of Schedule 8, which ORR concluded on in June 2017. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) requires consultants to undertake Phase 2 of the Schedule 8 recalibration for PR18, which will involve the recalibration of the following parameters: Network Rail Benchmarks. TOC Benchmarks. Network Rail Payment Rates. TOC Payment Rates. Sustained Poor Performance thresholds. Consultants will be expected to produce a detailed report documenting the methodology employed, and should provide all models used in the calculations of the finalised parameters. Phase 1 of the Schedule 8 recalibration is currently underway and involves the recalibration of Monitoring Point Weightings (MPWs) and Cancellation Minutes (CMs). Phase 2 will use the finalised MPWs and CMs from Phase 1, and will also involve an audit of the work completed in Phase 1. The work is required to commence in early November 2017 and be completed by the end of November 2018 by way of a staged process. This is a technical piece of work, requiring extensive knowledge and experience of the practical operation of Schedule 8, and previous experience of using data sources such as MOIRA, LENNON and PSS.