We want passengers to have accurate and timely information about their travel options, so that they can plan and make journeys with confidence, including during disruption.

Better information about planned rail replacement buses

In 2023, we set out what operators need to do to improve passenger information for journeys that involve planned rail replacement services. This year, we reviewed progress and published our findings.

Information when planning a journey in advance was generally accurate and of good quality, while operator staff and agents providing information on the day were informative and friendly. We were also encouraged by the collective efforts from industry via the SISJ programme on real time tracking of rail replacement vehicles and the production of new videos outlining maps of planned disruption.

However, we were disappointed to see little improvement in the information provided on the rail replacement journey itself and set out some further recommendations to industry.

We wrote to operators again in July recognising further progress, building on the findings of our report, and will continue to provide bilateral feedback to operators to support ongoing improvements for passengers.

Protecting passengers when trains are stranded

We asked industry to work together collaboratively to ensure that passenger safety and welfare is placed at the heart of stranded train incidents.

ORR and Transport Focus jointly commissioned research examining the passenger experience in stranded train incidents. Our report called for greater focus on passenger safety and welfare.

In January, we brought over 70 senior leaders together from across the industry to explore how the industry can embed best practice, and have now set out some clear objectives for the industry to deliver collaboratively. We will be reconvening the industry in October to maintain momentum on this work.

Live information on lift availability

We have continued to monitor the industry’s progress in meeting our expectations, that live data on lift availability will be made easily available to both passengers and staff to support journey planning.

This project has progressed more slowly than initially planned because of unanticipated issues that affect data quality and consistency.

Live data is available through the National Rail Accessibility Map for 89% of lifts, and is available to third-party website and app developers. We want to see Network Rail continuing to move towards 100% availability, and for the data to be available through the National Rail website and to be consistent with the information on operator websites.

Encouraging cross-industry collaboration

We continue to support cross-industry collaboration that enables network-wide improvements to the provision of passenger information.

We previously challenged the industry to develop a single, transparent strategy to deliver improvements in passenger information. In response, the industry established the SISJ programme, which is jointly led by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and Network Rail. The SISJ programme plays a central role in enabling change that requires cross-industry collaboration. Alongside, RDG’s Customer Information Group (CIG) focuses on supporting operators to deliver for passengers every day.

We engage actively with both SISJ and CIG in recognition of the value that they bring in enabling improvements in the passenger experience.

Regulatory framework for passenger information

We hold operators to account against requirements set out in the Passenger Information licence condition, under which operators have adopted the Customer Information Pledges as their regulated Code of Practice.

The Pledges must be reviewed annually to drive continuous improvement. The licence requirements complement wider requirements in consumer law and the Railway Interoperability Regulations.

Our priorities for April 2025 to March 2026

We will:

• Work with industry to maintain momentum on stranded trains work and to explore how the industry will lead this work into 2026 and beyond.
• Follow-up our recommendations to industry on improving passenger information for planned rail replacement buses.
• Continue to assess operator compliance with the Customer Information Pledges, particularly during disruption, providing bilateral feedback to operators.
• Continue to engage and influence across the breadth of the SISJ and CIG work programmes, in recognition of the value they have demonstrated in enabling improvements for passengers across the whole network.