UK: Industry regulator the Office of Rail & Road has published a track access dashboard which it hopes will help Network Rail and train operators make more efficient use of the network.
The dashboard gives an overview of how the industry is using available capacity and meeting timetabling timescales.
For the December 2023 timetable change operators planned to use 84% of the network capacity. There were 25 new requests for access, with 16 submitted after the industry deadline for publishing the timetable.
ORR said late submissions reduce the time to analyse impacts and introduce the risk of a timetable performing poorly.
‘Efficient use of network capacity is important for an affordable railway and robust timetables are fundamental if passengers are going to be able to travel with confidence’, said ORR Director, Strategy, Policy & Reform Stephanie Tobyn on May 2.
‘We have worked with the rail industry to increase clarity and transparency in these important areas and in doing so, we’re supporting improvement in how rail network capacity is used and timetables are planned in the interest of passengers.’
