Great Western Trains Company Ltd v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd [2010] EWHC 117 (Comm) (02 February 2010)

Great Western Trains Company Ltd v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd [2010] EWHC 117 (Comm) (02 February 2010)

Payments made or liable to be made under clause 18.1 of the Franchise Agreement are not to be taken into account when calculating compensation under Part G of the Network Code for Network Change. The loss of such payments is not a compensable loss under Part G, as clause 18.1 is intended to insulate the operator...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2010] EWHC 117 (Comm)
Parties
Claimant: Great Western Trains Company Limited; Defendant: Network Rail Infrastructure Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
02 February 2010
Procedural Posture
Arbitration Appeal (commercial Court) / Judgment on Appeal From Interim Arbitral Award
Outcome
Appeal dismissed. Arbitrator's decision upheld.
Legal Topics
Interpretation of Compensation Provisions, Interaction of Franchise and Access Agreements, Calculation of Damages, Network Change Compensation, Effect of Regulatory Charges Reviews
Contract Law Railway Regulation Arbitration Interpretation of Compensation Provisions Interaction of Franchise and Access Agreements Calculation of Damages Network Change Compensation Effect of Regulatory Charges Reviews

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Great Western Trains Company Limited

Claimant

Network Rail Infrastructure Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Arbitration Appeal (commercial Court) / Judgment on Appeal From Interim Arbitral Award

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether payments under clause 18.1 of the Franchise Agreement should be taken into account when calculating compensation under Part G of the Network Code for Network Change.
  2. 2 Whether the arbitrator erred in law by excluding such payments from the Part G calculation.

Ratio Decidendi

Payments made or liable to be made under clause 18.1 of the Franchise Agreement are not to be taken into account when calculating compensation under Part G of the Network Code for Network Change. The loss of such payments is not a compensable loss under Part G, as clause 18.1 is intended to insulate the operator from the effects of charges reviews, not from Network Change. The arbitrator did not err in law in excluding clause 18.1 payments from the Part G calculation.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed. Arbitrator's decision upheld.

Orders

  • No account should be taken of payments made or liable to be made under clause 18.1 of the Franchise Agreement when calculating compensation under Part G of the Network Code.
  • Costs to be determined separately.