The High Speed 1 (HS1) railway, which carries Eurostar and Southeastern services, has been told to reduce its charges for train operators, in the hopes that it could give a boost to passenger traffic and attract new train operators.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the government regulator, announced that it is directing HS1 to lower its charges for both passenger and freight train companies to use the rail line from April 2025.
The 109km high-speed rail line connects London St Pancras through Kent to the Channel Tunnel and has four stations: London St Pancras, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International.
The line is used by domestic Southeastern ‘Javelin’ services between London and Kent, Eurostar services as well as freight operations to and from the Channel Tunnel.
The ORR’s final decision comes after HS1 had already proposed some cost reductions relative to what they are today in its latest plans.
The regulator believes that the overall charges should come down by 3.8 per cent, which equates to £5m per year, compared to HS1’s latest plans.
Looking at how HS1’s costs stand today without its latest plans enacted, the ORR is asking for an overall drop of 10.4 per cent in its total regulated income.
The ORR is directing HS1 to reduce its charges in areas such as renewing routes, and stations, as well as day-to-day operations and maintenance of the railway.
The regulator hopes that these cost reductions could result in savings for train operators that would ultimately benefit customers, and that there will be long-term growth in passenger traffic, including the introduction of new operators on the line.
Despite the potential for the lower costs to attract new operators, Eurostar said: “We welcome the ORR’s decision to instruct HS1 to reduce track access charges on the Eurostar route.
“In recent years, these charges have risen significantly above the rate of inflation, which has put pressure on our ability to invest in the stations and infrastructure needed to support our future growth plans.
“This decision provides us with the financial headroom to make critical investments that will enhance the customer experience and ensure the long-term sustainability of high-speed rail connectivity between the UK and continental Europe.”
Southeastern also said they welcome the ORR’s announcement, adding that “our priority continues to be to provide the most reliable service to customers while reducing the amount of taxpayer subsidy required to operate our railway.”
Feras Alshaker, the director of planning and performance at ORR, said: “Our thorough, independent review of HS1 Ltd’s spending plans has resulted in significantly lower costs for passenger and freight train operators using the high-speed line from April 2025.
“Although, overall, HS1’s original plans were good, the company must now change specific areas of those plans to account for our decisions, which should benefit everyone who uses this railway.”
HS1 Ltd’s chief strategy and regulation officer, Mattias Bjornfors, said in a statement to The Independent: “We are pleased to see the ORR’s positive endorsement for our plan for the next five years.
“Our plan for 2025-2030 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.
“HS1 has already driven down costs and improved performance by investing in innovative technologies and working with partners to make multi-million-pound savings and reduce train delays.
“We are 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.”
Mr Bjornfors added that HS1 will now review the final determination in collaboration with National Rail “to ensure that the additional cost reductions proposed to operations and maintenance will enable us to continue operating the railway in a safe and resilient way”.
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