A key obligation for High Speed 1 (HS1) Limited in the concession agreement is the general duty concerning stewardship of the physical HS1 railway infrastructure.
This requires HS1 Limited to secure the operation, maintenance, renewal, replacement and planning and carrying out of upgrades in accordance with best practice and in a timely, efficient and economical manner, to the greatest extent reasonably practicable having regard to all the circumstances.
In complying with this stewardship duty, HS1 Limited must:
- establish and implement an asset management strategy;
- maintain accurate information about the condition, capability and capacity of its assets; and
- produce and update an asset register.
This register should list all the HS1 network railway infrastructure assets and their condition, including renewal and replacement dates.
HS1 Limited must also provide a series of statements setting how it will comply with its stewardship duty. These cover the policies and plans that it will follow for the life of the concession agreement and asset management statements for each control period.
It must also produce annual statements detailing work done in the preceding year and work planned for the following year.
We review these documents and can require HS1 Limited to repeat any part which we think does not satisfy its stewardship duty.
We monitor to see if HS1 Limited is complying with its obligations generally and with its statements and strategies. If it fails to do so, we can take enforcement action.