Welcome to the July issue of ORR’s newsletter.
I write this with a great sense of sorrow, following the very sad events of 19th June when two trains collided outside of Bedford, leading to the death of Shaun Burton, who was driving the Luton Airport Express Train, and more than 80 injuries. My thoughts remain with Mr Burton’s family, friends and colleagues, and those injured.
Our thoughts are also with the family of Kerry Coombes who died at a level crossing at Houghton, Lancashire last week, and for those of her daughter who was seriously injured.
While both these events are extremely rare it does nothing to lessen the severity of how we feel when such accidents occur.
My inspectors and I were at the site of the Bedford collision over the ensuing weekend and at such a sad time I was taken by the professionalism of the emergency services, British Transport Police, local NHS teams, railway staff, and the local community working together with dedication and haste. Now investigations led by RAIB will work to establish what took place, and we will all continue to work for the safest possible railway.
It was good to meet many of you at Rail Live earlier in June. For those invited to our annual ‘Year In Rail And Track Ahead’ event later this month, it will both mark the publication of our annual reports, including my third Health and Safety report as Chief Inspector, and is also an opportunity for us to look forward to how we will work under the new regime being brought forward by the Railways Bill, to ensure continued delivery for users and workers.
Richard Hines
HM Chief Inspector of Railways, Director, Railway Safety
Top stories
Consultation on fairer redress if passenger assistance fails
ORR statistics released at the end of June show demand for pre-booked passenger assistance is at its highest since the time series began in 2012.
Passenger assistance plays a vital role in helping those who require the service to be able to travel safely, confidently and independently. When it’s not delivered as requested the impact can be significant, causing disruption to journeys and distress for passengers.
ORR has been working with passenger and industry representatives to develop a proposed framework to help rail operators determine appropriate redress when booked passenger assistance has not been provided. A consultation has been launched on our proposals and we welcome any feedback submitted by 5pm on 11th September.
ORR to lower fees for third parties and investors in rail
Following ORR’s Rail Network Investment Framework deep dive, we are working with Network Rail to reduce the fees they charge to third parties and private investors, in a move to encourage further investment and growth.
Network Rail charges fees to cover the risks it takes on when a third-party, including private investors, funds or delivers work on the rail network. ORR’s deep dive review found that there is scope to reduce fees to ensure the risk fee funds are set closer to the break-even level. ORR will work with Network Rail to make targeted adjustments to these fees.
Gearing up for Lower Thames Crossing Regulation
Following the Secretary of State’s confirmation that through the Highways (Financing) Bill, ORR will be the regulator for the Lower Thames Crossing (under the Regulated Asset Base model for new road infrastructure), we are working closely with the DfT and industry experts on the future framework.
Next steps on ORR’s appeals process with Great British Railways
As part of our rail reform work, in December 2025 we published a discussion document setting out some of the choices that we consider we will need to make in developing our approach to handling future appeals relating to access and charging on GBR’s network. We also held two industry roundtables in January to discuss our thinking with stakeholders.
We have now published a summary of all the responses we received and next steps.
Our future appeals process needs to be in place for the point at which GBR begins making decisions on access and charging. We have therefore begun our policy development process early, to ensure industry and stakeholders have opportunities to contribute views. We will now continue developing our policy, working with stakeholders, ahead of a statutory consultation once the Bill becomes law.
Highest number of journeys since 1920
Our latest official statistics on passenger journeys on the railway show these have reached their highest level in more than a century. Our independent data records 1.83 billion journeys between April 2025 and March 2026 – surpassing the previous peak seen before the pandemic and marking the busiest year since 1920. This reflects a continued return to rail alongside changes in how and when people travel.
ORR’s analysis also highlights important shifts beneath the headline figures.
Growth has been driven in part by new infrastructure, particularly the Elizabeth line in the south east, alongside evolving travel patterns and ticketing behaviours, including increased use of split ticketing. While off-peak and season ticket journeys are rising, demand and revenue have not yet fully returned to pre-pandemic levels, pointing to a different, more flexible pattern of use.
By providing trusted, independent data and insight, ORR helps industry and government better understand these trends and focus on delivering a railway that is reliable, responsive and offers value for passengers.
Authorisation of Cambridge South Station
Last Sunday, 28th June, a brand new station opened at Cambridge South.
The new station will provide direct rail access to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Europe’s largest medical research facility and up to nine trains an hour to Cambridge, with the campus directly connected to major cities and transport hubs including London King’s Cross/St Pancras International, Stansted and Gatwick Airports and Birmingham, improving access to jobs, healthcare, research and education across the region.
ORR authorised the new station and associated infrastructure, including its four new platforms, six lifts providing step-free access, passenger information systems and more. The regulator’s authorisation is a key milestone in getting new, upgraded or renewed infrastructure ready to open. It also confirms that standards on areas like health and safety, accessibility and environmental protection have been met.
Statistics
This month we published the following statistics:
