Network Rail plans priority system

Network Rail is to implement a new system to prioritise work on its infrastructure as part of its asset management strategy.

The organisation is inviting suppliers to bid for the provision of a central Network Availability Model (NAM).

The NAM will provide an appraisal and management tool to prioritise investment in the rail network, resulting in the most cost effective solution.

The system will be rolled out in two stages. The first phase will take information residing in existing systems and highlight areas that are performing poorly.

It will focus on demand and capability, and identify areas where there are insufficient resources or where resources are not being utilised. The application will look at problems that are resulting in delayed trains and subsequent fines, and highlight areas that are regarded as 'poor performance hotspots'.

Stage two of the NAM will provide a modelling system consisting of a series of easily identifiable components that Network Rail will use to identify troublesome areas quickly and allow it to easily move resources to address them.

'It will eventually support 'what if' scenario modelling as part of the overall asset management strategy,' a spokesman said.

Network Rail wants the system to be up and running as soon as possible, and has specified that stage one of the NAM is completed by the end of March next year.

The company took over the running of the UK rail network from Railtrack in October, and said that asset management would be at the top of its list of priorities (Computing, 8 August 2002).

Iain Coucher, the former Network Rail managing director, told Computing at the time that the organisation will spend 'many, many, many tens of millions of pounds, if not hundreds of millions,' on modernising the network's IT infrastructure.