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 30 September 2026 found:
Overall compliance
- The rail industry returned to full compliance with Network Code milestones in December 2024, following ORR requirements.
- The industry continued to perform well against the main timetable production milestones. For May 2026, all operators except one submitted their initial bids on time, while all operators met the initial bid deadline for December 2026.
May 2026 timetable
- Network Rail issued all draft timetables on time (D-26).
- Revised access proposals fell substantially, from 292 for December 2025 to 66 for May 2026, continuing a downward trend from 436 in May 2025.
- Freight operators’ submissions accounted for 48 % of revised access proposals in May 2026, down from 90% in December 2025.
- Five operators indicated an intention to appeal aspects of the draft timetable, and all five subsequently submitted appeals to the Access Disputes Committee.
May 2026 TOVRs (Train Operator Variation Requests)
- The overall number of TOVRs fell compared with December 2025. Freight operators submitted 443 TOVRs, down from 777, while public service passenger operators submitted 216, down from 336.
- Freight operator TOVRs accounted for the majority of TOVRs across three of the last five timetable changes, including May 2026.
- The timeliness of freight requests remains an area to monitor. 60% of freight TOVRs were submitted within 12 weeks of the timetable change, compared with 34% for December 2025. For passenger operators, the proportion fell from 72% to 40%.
- For the first time, ORR has also collected data on the number of individual services affected by TOVRs. Preliminary findings indicate that operators with a higher number of TOVRs do not necessarily impact a higher number of services in the timetable.
December 2026 forward-view
- All operators met the 6 March 2026 (D40) deadline for bids.
- Revised access proposals fell further to 48, continuing the downward trend.
- Four operators indicated an intention to appeal aspects of the draft timetable. One appeal was submitted after the deadline and did not proceed.