Office of Rail & Road news – Page 2
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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 ...
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In depthTrain Control: En route to digital signalling
Final testing and commissioning of ETCS Level 2 is underway on the Northern City Line to London’s Moorgate terminus, which is due to go live later this year as a ‘pathfinder’ project for the East Coast Digital Programme. Chris Jackson reports.
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In depthUK: Lumo takes on the airlines
In the 18 months since its launch on the London – Edinburgh route, open access operator Lumo has driven up ridership and lifted rail’s market share significantly, as FirstGroup’s Commercial & Revenue Director Stuart Jones explains to Tony Miles.
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In depthUK: East Coast collaboration is delivering
Almost uniquely among UK train operators, LNER is seeing ridership on its inter-city services well above pre-pandemic levels, while a collaborative approach between operator and infrastructure manager is driving up performance. Tony Miles investigates.
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Rail Business UKTimetable confirmation could be reduced from 12 to eight weeks ahead
UK: The Office of Rail & Road is seeking feedback on the impact on passengers and other users of potentially changing the deadline for Network Rail to confirm timetables from 12 to eight weeks before a train runs. The proposal is to remove the reference to ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast submits revised recovery plan
UK: Inter-City West Coast operator Avanti West Coast has submitted a revised timetable production recovery plan to the Office of Rail & Road. The regulator had sought changes after the operator’s initial improvements had stalled with weekend timetables being finalised just a few days in advance. ...
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Rail Business UKRail regulator calls for passenger-friendly approach to short-notice train cancellations
UK: Train operators need to introduce a more passenger-friendly and transparent ways of working when making late changes to services, according to industry regulator the Office of Rail & Road. Currently ‘pre-cancellations’ made via a process known as ‘p-coding’ can be confirmed up to 22.00 the ...
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Rail Business UKScottish HLOS and SoFA submitted to ORR
UK: The Scottish government’s High-Level Output Specification and Statement of Funds Available for Control Period 7 was submitted to the Office of Rail & Road on January 27. Initial publication of the HLOS and SoFA for the period from April 1 2024 to March 31 2029 ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast required to produce improved timetable recovery plan
UK: The Office of Rail & Road has told Avanti West Coast to submit an improved timetable production recovery plan by February 2. The regulator said Avanti had initially made reasonable progress against its September 2022 recovery plan, but the position had deteriorated in 2023 with ...
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Rail Business UKTrain driver sentenced for Bromsgrove collision
UK: A train driver who was distracted by a using mobile phone leading to a collision between a DB Cargo locomotive and a passenger train has been sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He must also undertake 120 h of unpaid work and ...
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Rail Business UKCompetition concerns over Hitachi’s planned acquisition of Thales signalling business
UK: The Competition & Markets Authority has expressed concern that Hitachi Rail’s planned acquisition of Thales’ Ground Transportation Business could eliminate a credible competitor for the supply of signalling systems, at a time when efforts are being made to increase competition in the UK market. Hitachi ...
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Rail Business UKModernisation and efficiency improvements included in High Level Output Specification
UK: There is ‘an urgent need for continued modernisation and significant efficiency improvements to bear down on the cost of the railway’, according to the High Level Output Specification which sets out what the Secretary of State wants to be achieved from the management of rail ...