Our aim is to protect the interests of road and rail users, and our business plan sets out how we intend to do so.
It summarises what we aim to achieve each year to meet our four strategic objectives:
- a safer railway
- better rail customer service
- value for money from the railway
- better highways
Read the ORR Business Plan for 2025 to 2026.
Previous business plans are listed below. For older plans please visit the National Archives.
Our strategic objectives
Strategic objective 1: A safer railway
ORR is the health and safety regulator for all of Britain’s rail industry. Our strategic objective is to enforce the law and ensure that the industry delivers continuous improvement in the health and safety of passengers, the workforce and public, by achieving excellence in health and safety culture, management, and risk control.
Strategic objective 2: Better rail customer service
We have a key role to improve the rail passenger experience in the consumer areas for which we have regulatory responsibility and take prompt and effective action to improve the service that passengers receive where it is required.
Strategic objective 3: Value for money from the railway
We support the delivery of an efficient, high-performing rail service that provides value for money for passengers, freight customers, governments, and taxpayers. We also regulate other significant elements of the national rail infrastructure, including High Speed 1 (HS1) and the UK portion of the Channel Tunnel.
Strategic objective 4: Better highways
National Highways operates the strategic road network, managing motorways and major roads in England. Our role is to monitor and hold it to account for its performance and delivery, so that its customers enjoy predictable journeys on England’s roads.
Delivery of service standards: 2024 to 2025
Much of our business-as-usual work involves providing services to those in the industry or others with an interest in our work.
As an organisation that is largely funded, directly or indirectly, by the public, it is essential that we publish service standards as part of our commitment to transparency.
The service standards below were published in our business plan for 2024 to 2025. The table shows how we performed against each of these.
| Provision | Service standard | Percentage achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Issue new or revised train driver licences | 100% of applications decided within one month of receipt of all necessary documentation | 100% |
| ROGS safety certificate and authorisations (Railway and Other Guided Transport Systems Regulations) | 100% determined within 4 months of receiving completed application | 100% |
| Report to Rail Accident Investigations Branch (RAIB) on the progress of its recommendations | 100% response to RAIB recommendations within 1 year of associated RAIB reporting being published | 100% |
| Efficient processing of technical authorisations | 100% of responses within 28 days of receiving complete submission | 100% |
| Approve the Accessible Travel Policy of a new licence holder | 100% approved within 6 weeks of receipt of all relevant information | 100% |
| Track, station and depot access applications | 100% decided within 6 weeks of receipt of all relevant information | 100% |
| Operator licence and licence exemption applications | 100% decided within 2 months of receipt of all relevant information | 100% |
| Freedom of Information requests | 90% of requests for information responded to within 20 working days of receipt | 100% |
| General enquiries and complaints, including adjustment to account for cases investigated | 95% of enquiries and complaints responded to within 20 working days of receipt | 98% |
| Prompt payment of suppliers’ invoices to ORR | 90% paid within 5 days of valid invoice | 90% |
| Prompt payment of suppliers’ invoices to ORR | 100% paid within 30 days of valid invoice | 100% |
| Publication of the four accredited official quarterly statistical releases | 100% published within 4 months after quarter end | 100% |
| Market studies | 100% of interim market study reports published within 6 months of launch of market study | 100% |
| Market studies | 100% of final market study reports published within 12 months of launch of market study | 100% |
| Proactive preventative regulatory interventions | 50% (minimum) of ORR inspector time spent on proactive, preventative regulatory interventions. | 52% |