No bonuses for rail executives

Top managers at Network Rail will not be paid annual bonuses this year, the infrastructure group said last night after attracting criticism for making payouts last year.

The move, which affects nine Network Rail executives, comes after the company suspended its management incentive programme as it reviewed its bonus arrangements. The chair of Network Rail's remuneration committee, Steve Russell, said new plans for incentives from 2011-12 onwards will be published shortly.

"There remained only the question of the basis on which any 2010-11 annual bonus should be awarded," he said, adding that, in a joint decision, the committee and the executive directors had opted against making such payouts this year.