Hello and welcome to May’s newsletter.
Last month, John Larkinson retired as ORR CEO having served seven years in that role, on top of 13 years as a senior member of staff.
I wanted to take this opportunity to personally thank John for his exemplary leadership and guidance. He steered ORR expertly through the challenges of the last seven years, including recovery from the pandemic and ongoing rail reform. I am, meanwhile, pleased to be able to lead ORR in this interim period as we continue our transformation in support of rail reform and ensure effective, proportionate regulation that delivers for rail and road users and taxpayers.
In April, we published our Business Plan for 2026 to 2027, which includes details of our transformation programme to reflect the rail reform proposals currently in Parliament. ORR is changing alongside the rest of the industry – reflecting the UK Government’s wider rail transformation, and our shared ambition to reduce the administrative burden of regulation and drive economic growth.
That also means expanding our capabilities to monitor the whole rail network under Great British Railways (GBR). We’re building our capabilities to be able to oversee strategic decisions on rolling stock and the delivery of train services, and how future arrangements under GBR support a healthy ticket retailing market. In addition, we have published our Guiding Principles for GBR’s Health and Safety Management System (HSMS), providing early clarity on the outcomes we will be looking for when assessing the HSMS and providing certification.
Meanwhile, as National Highways enters its third road period, with £27bn in funding to deliver the UK Government’s new road investment strategy, ORR will continue to hold the company to account to deliver its commitments efficiently and effectively.
Our work to support third party investment into the railway continues with the latest phase of the review of the Rail Network Investment Framework. We have worked collaboratively with Network Rail and stakeholders to deliver this work which, overall, will lower the fee rates paid by investors and support future investment in railway infrastructure.
I look forward to continuing to work closely with you across rail and road.
Feras Alshaker
Interim CEO
Top stories
Eurotunnel fined £2.25m following ORR prosecution
The Channel Tunnel Group Limited (CTGL, also known as Eurotunnel) was fined £2.25 million on 10 April after pleading guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, following an investigation and prosecution by ORR.
The incident involving an engineering surveyor happened in 2018 at Eurotunnel’s UK terminal at Folkestone. As the surveyor stood at the bottom of one of the lighting masts a 115kg lighting carriage being winched to the top of the mast fell, striking the surveyor and causing multiple serious, life-changing injuries.
This case serves as another reminder to industry that regular maintenance of equipment and thorough and appropriate risk-assessments in carrying out works is crucial to help prevent a repeat of such an event.
You can read more on this here.
ORR publishes findings from Phase 3 of deep dive review into the Rail Network Investment Framework (RNIF)
In April, we published Phase 3 of our deep dive review into the Rail Network Investment Framework (RNIF), working with the rail supply chain to encourage direct private investment into railway infrastructure. This deep dive was commissioned by the Chancellor as part of the work to ensure regulators and regulation support economic growth.
In phase 3, we commissioned the Government Actuary’s Department to undertake an independent actuarial review of Network Rail’s Industry Risk Fund and the Network Rail Fee Fund – key components of the RNIF, intended to support private investment by providing a consistent approach to risk allocation and liability coverage.
The key findings are set out in our letter to HM Treasury. We are now going to carry out targeted engagement with HM Treasury, Department for Transport and Network Rail to implement improvements to the risk funds ahead of the autumn, which will include making an overall reduction in the fee rates paid by investors.
Our work will deliver meaningful improvements to the funds, lowering costs for investors, improving service standards, while ensuring that risk is allocated appropriately and taxpayer money is achieving value for money.
Bringing passenger rail back to South Birmingham after 80+ years
We have authorised the new stations at Moseley Village, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road, marking the return of passenger services to the Camp Hill Line in Birmingham for the first time since 1941.
This has reconnected thousands of people in south Birmingham to the rail network, with regular services into Birmingham New Street and Kings Norton, and step free access at all three stations. It’s a strong example of how ORR supports investment and growth while making sure new infrastructure meets the standards passengers expect.
West Midlands Railway services now run twice an hour between Birmingham New Street and Kings Norton via these stations, with journey times to the city centre of around 12 minutes from Moseley Village, 15 minutes from Kings Heath and 17 minutes from Pineapple Road.
Our authorisation confirmed that standards across health and safety, accessibility, environmental protection, reliability and availability have all been met, including step-free access via new lifts, as well as car and cycle parking. We worked closely with the West Midlands Combined Authority, Network Rail, West Midlands Rail Executive and the wider project team throughout the process to ensure all necessary checks and surveys were carried out.
ORR publishes its Business Plan for 2026 to 2027
We have published our Business Plan for 2026 to 2027, setting out how we will protect rail and road users during a period of major change, including preparation for rail reform. The plan explains how ORR will rebalance its regulatory approach, sharpen its focus on outcomes for users and prepare for new responsibilities, including oversight of TfL’s capital programme and elements of the Lower Thames Crossing.
Read the Business Plan.
Podcasts
The Rail and Road Pod Episode 28: Assessing National Highways’ regional and safety performance
In this episode Stephen Bussell and Prentiss Clarke-Jones from our Highways team discuss our recent analysis of National Highways’ regional performance during the second road period, and our annual assessment of safety on the strategic road network.
Statistics
In April we published the following statistics:
