Regulator orders HS1 Ltd to lower access charges

UK: The Office of Rail & Road has directed high speed line concessionaire HS1 Ltd to lower the access charges for passenger and freight trains on the route from London to the Channel Tunnel.

ORR’s Final Determination of HS1 Ltd’s spending plans for April 1 2025 to March 31 2030 follows a review of the company’s proposals, which already included some reductions in costs.

ORR said it had identified specific areas in the company’s spending plans where further improvements could be made, and has determined that overall charges should come down by 3·8% (£5m per year) compared to HS1 Ltd’s plans published in November.

The determination is separate from any decision on access to HS1, but it assumes long-term growth in passenger traffic, including new operators, and ORR hopes that the lower charges will support this growth.

ORR’s determination assumes there will be no freight traffic on HS1, although if this were to resume, it has determined the charges which would apply.

Responding to the ORR’s final determination, Mattias Bjornfors, Chief Strategy & Regulation Officer at HS1 Ltd, said ’our plan for 2025-30 includes proposals to enhance efficiency and reduce the cost of operating the high speed line, incorporating innovations like track deterioration modelling to better target renewal investments’.

He added that ‘we strongly encourage’ operators to pass the reduction in charges on to passengers through ‘more competitive fares or improved services’.

HS1 Ltd is now ’embarking on an exciting period of growth, both domestically and internationally, and further services on the HS1 route will lead to lower charges for operators and significant benefits to the UK economy’.

HS1 Ltd is also planning enhancements to London St Pancras International station to meet long term passenger growth. 

Regulated charges, £m/year (February 2023 prices)