Newsletters

Office of Rail and Road November 2026 newsletter

30 October 2026
Sarah Shore
Sarah Shore
Deputy Director, Railway Safety
Railway tracks

Hello, and welcome to the November edition of our newsletter.

It was devastating to see the tragic events in Spain this week, and the thoughts of all at ORR are with those affected.

A safe railway depends on managing today's risks alongside emerging challenges, to ensure that the health, safety and wellbeing of the workforce and passengers remain at the heart of decision-making.  

This month, that focus has been reflected in several important pieces of work led or supported by ORR. Together, they demonstrate the breadth of ORR’s health and safety role and show how effective regulation combines practical improvements for frontline workers with a focus on the risks and opportunities shaping the railway's future.

One example is the industry's growing commitment to improving access to welfare facilities for railway workers.

At a recent Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB)-led welfare event supported by ORR, senior leaders from across the sector came together to agree a national action plan aimed at delivering meaningful improvements for workers across the network.

The event showcased practical solutions, including new tools to identify suitable welfare facilities and innovative approaches to supporting train crew and other operational staff.

Most importantly, it reinforced a shared commitment that every railway worker should be able to access appropriate welfare facilities with dignity and respect.  

Alongside this, we have published our new Digital Safety Strategy, setting out how ORR will work with industry to ensure technological innovation is introduced and managed safely.  

As rail becomes increasingly dependent on digital systems, data and connected technologies, it is essential that safety regulation evolves accordingly. The strategy provides a framework for understanding and managing digital safety risks while supporting innovation that can improve the safety, reliability and performance of the railway.  

Alongside the strategy, we have also published our latest strategic risk chapter on digital safety. This explains ORR’s understanding of the digital risks that could prevent organisations from operating safely and effectively and provides information to support industry compliance.

Understanding the digital safety risk and ensuring that industry action is both proportionate and effective remains central to our regulatory approach.

Whether through policy development, inspection, investigation, enforcement or engagement with stakeholders, our focus is on securing continuous improvement and ensuring risks are properly controlled, helping to deliver a railway that is safe, sustainable and fit for the future.

Sarah Shore
Deputy Director, Railway Safety

Top stories

ORR’s rejects proposed West Coast Main Line services

ORR has rejected applications for new passenger services between London and Wrexham, Rochdale and Blackpool, concluding that adding more trains to the West Coast Main Line would likely increase delays for passengers and lead to cancelled trains. We did approve access for one passenger train by Avanti West Coast for an existing Chester to London service. As the train already runs, currently as empty coaching stock on this route, no additional train would be added to the network. Read the full article.

Seeking your views on proposed new safeguards for a fair rail ticket market under GBR

On 9 October we launched a consultation on a draft Retail Code of Practice that would establish new safeguards for the future online rail ticket market under Great British Railways (GBR). This consultation will help shape the future framework for competition and consumer choice in rail retailing under GBR.

The draft Retail Code is intended to help ensure the market remains fair and open, supporting competition and passenger choice as GBR takes on a major role in rail retail. Read more including how to respond to the consultation which closes on 11 December 2026.

ORR digital safety strategy and strategic risk chapter published

On 28 September, we published our digital safety strategy, setting out how we will support the safe adoption of digital technologies by the railway industry and ensure health and safety regulation keeps pace with technological change. The strategy will help industry manage emerging digital safety risks while supporting innovation.

Alongside the strategy, we published the digital safety strategic risk chapter, which explains ORR’s view of the key safety risks associated with the increasing use of software, data, connectivity, automation and artificial intelligence across the railway.

The chapter complements the strategy and provides additional context to make clear what good risk management looks like and sets out our compliance expectations. Organisations should be able to identify, assess and control risks arising from digital systems so that safety is maintained as these technologies become more widely used and increasingly integral to railway operations.

Regional performance summaries of National Highways regions published

Benchmarking informs our assessment of whether National Highways' plans are challenging yet achievable. Our latest regional benchmarking publication looks at how each National Highways region performed against key performance metrics from April 2025 to March 2026. View the full analysis and regional summaries.

ORR at Highways UK 2026

Our interim Chief Executive, Feras Alshaker discussed the long-term asset health and finances of the strategic road network when he joined the recent Highways UK opening panel.

Also at Highways UK, Rachel Gittens, Deputy Director for the Strategic Road Network, and members of the ORR highways team were joined by Transport Focus’ Guy Dangerfield for a panel discussion on how our work supports road users, with a look back at our annual assessment of National Highways and ahead to the challenges and opportunities of Road Investment Strategy 3 (RIS3).

ORR gives evidence to the Public Bill Committee on the Highways (Financing) Bill

ORR’s Director of Economics, Finance and Markets, Will Godfrey, gave evidence to the Public Bill Committee on the Highways (Financing) Bill this week. In a wide ranging session he covered questions on assurance, protection for road users and local engagement.

ORR’s holds first Parliamentary staff webinar

Our Parliamentary Staff Webinar on 13 October attracted many researchers and Parliamentary staff from across Westminster and constituency offices. This is the first time we have done this as part of our approach to keeping stakeholders up to date with rail reform and our changing role.  Thank you to all who came.

Blogs

Passenger rolling stock age explained

Each year ORR publishes statistics on the average age of rolling stock for each passenger operator in Great Britain. Our latest blog explains trends in the age of passenger rolling stock and what they reveal about fleet investment and renewal. Read the full blog.

Statistics

This month we published the following statistics: