ORR is responsible for holding Network Rail to account against the conditions in its licence, which includes the requirement to produce the timetable.
ORR monitors industry compliance with timetable production timescales by gathering data from Network Rail and train operators on key milestones in the Network Code.
Meeting timetable production milestones allows robust timetables to be produced on time, providing certainty to passengers and freight. Monitoring any significant changes in train operator variation requests indicates the stability of the timetable as it approaches publication.
Changes close to or later than 12 weeks prior to the timetable coming into operation are of particular interest because operators have a commitment to open advance booking for passengers at the 12 week point.
For details of how the rail industry produces timetables, please see our report on the timetable development process.
Rail industry compliance with timetable production milestones
This report uses management information data on Network Rail and operators' compliance with timetable production outputs. The data is monitored and analysed during the industry process of producing a timetable for passenger and freight operators.
Key messages, data tables and charts will be made available here after the main two timetable changes in May and December each year.
If you have any questions or feedback, please contact stationsanddepots@orr.gov.uk
View the dashboard, hosted in Power BI:
Latest findings
Our report published on 10 April 2025 found:
- All operators submitted their proposed new timetables (“bidding”) to Network Rail in line with the contractual milestones in the Network Code for December 2024 and May 2025.
- However, a high number of operators did not have contracts in place with Network Rail to support these timetables by the time the passenger advance booking date arrived (12 weeks before timetable implementation).
- Aspirant open access operators, Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway (for May and December 2025) and Virgin Trains (for December 2025) bid in anticipation of securing rights.
- Open access operator First Rail Stirling bid for December 2025 having secured rights in 2024.
- Network Rail provided operators with the draft timetables for December 2024 and May 2025 in line with the contractual Network Code milestones.
- A total of 1,572 Train Operator Variation Requests (TOVRs) were made in the 26 weeks before the December 2024 timetable came into operation, compared to 1,935 for June 2024.
- 81% of TOVRs for December 2024 were requested by freight operators, and most freight operator TOVRs were made less than 12 weeks prior to the timetable going live.
- We (and industry) expect freight operators to have a high number of TOVRS because of their business model which relies on identifying and bidding for unused capacity in the base timetable. Nonetheless, TOVRs introduce complexity in finalising the timetable.
- Of the passenger operators, TransPennine Express and ScotRail continued to have the highest number of TOVRs for the December 2024 timetable change. These two operators also had more TOVRs than other passenger operators for the June, 2024 and December 2023 timetable changes.
- Passenger operators continue to make a most of their TOVRs in the last 12 weeks before the timetable change:
- for December 2024, 151 passenger operator TOVRs were made within 12 weeks of the timetable change (53% of the passenger total)
- for June 2024, 165 passenger operator TOVRs were made within 12 weeks of the timetable change (68% of the total)
- for December 2023, 127 passenger operator TOVRs were made within 12 weeks of the timetable change (77% of the total)