Editing Network Rail (section)

===Control periods===

{{Main|Network Rail Control Periods}}
For financial and other planning purposes, Network Rail works within 5-year "Control Periods", each one beginning on 1 April and ending on 31 March to coincide with the financial reporting year. These periods were inherited from Railtrack, so that the earlier ones are retrospective, and not necessarily of 5 years duration. They are as follows:<ref name="ORRcontrolperiods">{{cite web| url=https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/1831/railway-control-periods-cp1-to-cp6.ods |author=[[Office of Rail and Road]] |title=Railway Control Periods CP1 to CP6 (1995-96 to 2023-24 |format=ODS)}}</ref>
* Control Period 1 (CP1): 1995–1999
* Control Period 2 (CP2): 1999–2004
* Control Period 3 (CP3): 2004–2009
* Control Period 4 (CP4): 2009–2014
* Control Period 5 (CP5): 2014–2019
* Control Period 6 (CP6): 2019–2024
* Control Period 7 (CP7): 2024–2029
* Control Period 8 (CP8): 2029–2034

The [[Secretary of State for Transport]] regularly issues a ''High-Level Output Specification'' (HLOS) indicating what work the Government wishes to be undertaken during a given Control Period.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-level-output-specification-2012 |last=[[Department for Transport]] |title=Policy paper: High level output specification 2012 |date=16 July 2012 |access-date=27 January 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170425122456/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-level-output-specification-2012 |archive-date=25 April 2017 }}</ref>