MPs urge rail chiefs to reject bonus
MPs are urging the chief executive of Network Rail to turn down a potential bonus of £340,000.
Tom Harris, the former Labour rail minister, has tabled a motion which 27 other Labour MPs have signed.
It calls on Sir David Higgins and the directors of Network Rail (NR) to reject a bonus.
A NR spokesman said the company's members would have a meeting in the next few weeks to make a decision on a bonus scheme structure, but that they had not yet come to any decisions.
The firm has control over the rail infrastructure across the UK.
Mr Harris said in the Commons motion that NR had been "found by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to be in breach of its licence and that, according to the ORR, 'major asset failures, congested routes and poor management of track condition' contributed to poor performance of the UK rail network in 2011".
After the ORR's December 2011 ruling, the secretary for transport, Justine Greening, said: "We have been repeatedly clear that bonuses should only be awarded for exceptional performance.
"Passengers would be extremely surprised if NR attempted to award bonuses next year in the light of this action by the ORR."
Copyright Press Association 2012
