Network Rail Boss Mark Carne To Turn Down Bonus

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Network Rail's Mark Carne has told Sky News he will forego his bonus after passengers endured "totally unacceptable" travel chaos.

The chief executive was criticised after travellers were left stranded when engineering works over-ran.

London King's Cross had to shut and all trains to and from the station were cancelled.

Travellers then complained of "being locked" in by overcrowding when diverted to Finsbury Park station.

Paddington station also closed for several hours on Saturday.

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Gallery: Passengers Endure London Travel Chaos Over Christmas

Travellers were told to head to Finsbury Park station, resulting in overcrowding

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Another picture from Finsbury Park

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Passengers complained of being "locked in" at the station due to overcrowding. Pic: Fiona Kerr

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The large influx of people forced the closure of the station

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Mr Carne said: "I'm accountable for the performance of the railway. In my view, the performance over the Christmas and New Year period was not acceptable."

"And I've decided I should not take the bonus for this year."

He insisted he had been dealing with the situation, despite being on holiday in Cornwall at the time.

Mr Carne could have received up to 20% in a performance-related bonus on top of his £675,000 annual salary.

The rail boss had previously refused to say whether he would take the payout.

Mr Carne told Sky there was "never a good time" to do the engineering work and that the £1bn improvement plan was vital to "keep the railway safe and improve its reliability".

Rail watchdog the Office of Rail Regulation is launching an investigation into the chaos.

The Department of Transport has also said it is "extremely disappointed" and has demanded an explanation.

TSSA rail union leader Manuel Cortes said more executives should also forego their right to a bonus.

"We welcome this decision by Mark Carne but, like many of his trains, it is running late - 72 hours late in this case.

"We hope that his fellow executives will now follow suit and announce they will also be giving up their large bonuses as well."

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