Office of Rail & Road news
News about the Office of Rail & Road, which regulates the UK railway industry.
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Rail Business UKTrain ticket refund fee capped at £5
UK: The maximum fee that train operators and ticket retailers can charge when an unused ticket is refunded was reduced from £10 to £5 on April 1. The change follows a review by the Office of Rail & Road which found that 5·8 million tickets were ...
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Rail Business UKStation lift reliability needs to be improved, says regulator
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has raised concern over the rate of station lift faults, and it is to review of Network Rail’s processes to ensure it is taking appropriate measures to plan and carry out maintenance and repairs. ORR says there are 1 ...
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Rail Business UKRegulator secures fee transparency from third-party rail ticket retailers
UK: The Office of Rail & Road says third-party ticket retailers have responded positively to its December 2023 report which said some were not sufficiently transparent about the additional fees they charge. ORR said it has had constructive engagement from MyTrainTicket, Omio, Raileasy, Rail Europe, Trainhugger, ...
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Rail Business UKLondon – Stirling open access train service approved
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has given the go-ahead for Grand Union Trains to launch an open access passenger service between London and Stirling. Access rights have been approved from June 2025 to June 2030. ORR said the services would use existing off-lease diesel ...
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Rail Business UKRail regulator identifies how assistance for disabled passengers needs to improve
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has identified ways in which the provision of assistance for disabled passengers needs to be improved, following audits of how five operators are meeting regulatory requirements. ORR chose East Midlands Railway, Govia Thameslink Railway, Greater Anglia, LNER and Northern ...
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Rail Business UKRichard Hines named next Chief Inspector of Railways
UK: Richard Hines is to succeed Ian Prosser as HM Chief Inspector of Railways in summer 2024, the Office of Rail & Road announced on December 18. Hines is currently a Deputy Chief Inspector, and heads ORR’s team of non-main line health and safety inspectors as ...
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Rail Business UKTrain ticket retailers told to make booking fees clearer
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has written to seven online ticket retailers expressing concerns about ‘drip pricing’, when customers are shown an initial price with additional fees revealed later in the sales process. Thee are more than 40 retailers selling rail tickets online, split ...
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Rail Business UKRegulator approves Network Rail’s £43·1bn five-year plan
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has published its final determination setting out how Network Rail plans to use the £43·1bn being made available to fund infrastructure operation, maintenance and renewal during the five-year Control Period 7 starting on April 1 2024. Network Rail has ...
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Rail Business UKBetter crowd management needed at London Euston station, says ORR
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has issued Network Rail with an improvement notice for London Euston station, saying the infrastructure manager has failed to put in place effective measures to prevent risks from overcrowding and surges. ORR made a site visit after analysing CCTV ...
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Rail Business UKClearer information and more flexibility needed when trains are cancelled
UK: The Office of Rail & Road says ticket retailers need to improve the clarity of messages notifying passengers of changes to train services they have advance bookings for. The regulator also wants operators to consider offer more flexibility when trains are cancelled, to give passengers ...
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Rail Business UKTimetable confirmation deadline to remain at 12 weeks
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has decided not to proceed with two changes to Network Rail’s network licence, after receiving mixed responses to the proposals. The first of the changes prompted by Network Rail’s Better Timetables for Passengers & Freight reform programme would have ...
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Rail Business UKHigh Speed 1 Ltd misses performance targets
UK: Channel Tunnel to London high speed line infrastructure concessionaire HS1 Ltd has missed key performance targets, according to the Office of Rail & Road’s annual assessment. ORR said HS1 Ltd has made improvements since it raised concerns about asset renewals last year, but it missed ...
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Metro Report InternationalTransport for London and operator fined over Croydon tram crash
UK: Transport for London and Tram Operations Ltd have been fined a total of £14m over the fatal London Trams derailment at Sandilands in Croydon. Seven passengers were killed and many more injured in November 2016 when a tram overturned after entering a sharp curve at ...
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Rail Business UKDisabled passengers need more reliable assistance, regulator says
UK: More reliable and consistent assistance needs to be provided for disabled passengers, the Office of Rail & Road said when it published its 2023 annual rail consumer report. ORR found that when passengers receive assistance there is high satisfaction, up from 86% to 90% year-on-year, ...
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Rail Business UKEight recommendations to improve rail performance strategies
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has issued eight recommendations to improve the management of railway performance, following a review of the joint performance strategies produced by train operating companies with Network Rail. ORR decided to conduct the review earlier this year, citing a range ...
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Rail Business UKRail regulator sets out access charge policy for 2024-29
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has confirmed that it intends to retain the current structure of charges for passenger and freight operators during the five-year Control Period 7 starting in April 2024. Network Rail has received around £1·3bn in annual income from infrastructure cost charges ...
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Rail Business UKRail regulator wants more focus on performance and core assets
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has published its draft determination for the 2023 Periodic Review, setting out its assessment of Network Rail’s plans to spend £40·0bn in England and Wales and £4·8bn in Scotland during the five-year Control Period 7 starting on April 1 ...
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Rail Business UKRegulator to study competition in the railway station food and drink market
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has launched a study of the market for the sale of ready to consume food and drink at railway stations in Great Britain, looking at the effectiveness of competition, outcomes for consumers and barriers for new entrants. Factors to ...
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Rail Business UKRail Ombudsman contract awarded as sponsorship moves from RDG to ORR
UK: Dispute Resolution Ombudsman Ltd has been awarded a new contract to operate the Rail Ombudsman scheme, which was launched in 2018 to resolve disputes when passenger complaints cannot be settled directly with train or station operators. Sponsorship of the scheme is being transferred from the ...
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Rail Business UKORR requires Network Rail to clear structure examination backlog
UK: Industry regulator the Office of Rail & Road has written to Network Rail regarding its concerns about a backlog in examining the condition of structures, including bridges, tunnels and culverts. ORR said it has been closely monitoring the infrastructure manager’s progress to clear the backlog ...