THE successor to David Higgins as chief executive of Network Rail has been named, but the revelation of his salary has roused new protests about the levels of executive pay in the company.

Mark Carne, formerly executive vice president for the Middle East and North Africa for Royal Dutch Shell, will join NR on 6 January.

After a handover period of almost three months, he will formally take over as chief executive from David Higgins at the start of April with a basic annual salary of £675,000, some 13 per cent more than his predecessor. However, Network Rail said that he would not be in line for any 'annual incentive payment' for 2013/14.

TSSA general secretary Manual Cortes said: "At a time of ever-increasing rail fares, and falling wages, we think this is an insult to rail passengers who have seen price rises of 20 per cent since May 2010. We don't blame Mr Carne for taking the money but he should never have been offered it in the first place."

NR said the amount "was determined following an exhaustive and independent process which compared the salaries of chief executives in both the public and private sectors given Network Rail's unique position as a not-for-dividend, independent company. The review concluded that the proposed salary reflected that unique status placing, as it does, the CEO's salary at a point between the two sectors".

A spokesman also dismissed as 'ridiculous' a claim by the TSSA that transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin had agreed the deal. The spokesman said: "The Department for Transport does not run Network Rail, which is a standalone 'not for profit' company, limited by guarantee, with appointed members taking the place of shareholders. Mr Carne's terms of employment were not submitted to Mr McLoughlin."

Mr Carne, 54, has no known railway industry experience. As executive vice president for Shell in the Middle East and North Africa, he was responsible for the company's business at a time of significant political change.

Before taking on that role he was executive vice president and managing director for BG Group in Europe and Central Asia following a 21-year period spent in a variety of roles with Shell including responsibility for Shell’s oil and gas platforms in the North Sea and as managing director for Brunei Shell Petroleum.

Network Rail's chairman, Richard Parry Jones, said: "Each and every day, Network Rail has to provide a safe and reliable railway for the travelling public as well as the train and freight operating companies, at the same time as working to improve the network to help us meet unprecedented growth in demand. That poses a unique set of challenges for any chief executive, demanding the skill and experience to translate engineering excellence into daily operations safely and effectively, as well as keeping the public informed of what we are doing and why.

“Through his work with Shell and BG Group in very testing and difficult environments, Mark Carne has shown that he has the necessary skill and global experience to build on, and develop further, what Network Rail has already achieved in meeting these challenges under the leadership of David Higgins. We thank David for all he has done for the company."

Mark Carne said: "The success of Network Rail is vital for Britain’s economy and this is an exciting time for the whole rail industry. I am delighted to be given the opportunity to lead Network Rail and look forward to working with the team to drive performance to new heights.”