Welcome to our February newsletter
Hello and welcome to the ORR newsletter for February.
The issue of cost on the railway is as crucial now as it has ever been. This reflects both the wider difficult economic situation and the need to ensure public money on improving the network is well spent. Understanding what drives costs is an important part of this. And naturally, this will vary across different areas on the railway.
Over the last year I have heard a number of anecdotes about the cost of rail schemes which involve installing or upgrading level crossings. One of the things that makes a difference here is the carrying out of proper risk assessments. These help support informed decisions on what is actually necessary to manage level crossing safety risk appropriately. And while we would expect scheme promotors to produce a risk assessment, sometimes in the past this has not been done or done well.
To help address this, we have been looking at what we can do to help those in the industry making decisions on level crossings. One area we want to improve is our published guidance on this, partly in recognition that what is currently available is not as helpful or clear as it could be.
In January, we began a consultation on proposed new guidance. This is a departure from the previous, more prescriptive, document and is much more accessible, containing practical advice on how to identify and manage safety risks. It also explains how cost benefit analysis can be used in decision making to allow for consideration of all relevant costs and benefits.
I hope in time that the risk based principles approach set out in the new guidance will support better decision making, and give the industry greater confidence in putting forward innovative designs to address risks at level crossings.
John Larkinson, Chief Executive
Top Stories
Webinars on ORR’s consultation on proposed new level crossing guidance
As discussed above, we are consulting on our new guidance, Principles for managing level crossing safety. The consultation runs until 26 February 2021.
We will be hosting a live webinar on 23 February (11am) to introduce our proposed new guidance and also explain what else ORR is doing to support decision making on level crossing safety. There will be an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the webinar in a live Q&A. Please register by visiting our Eventbrite page.
ORR launches podcast series
ORR has begun a series of podcasts discussing issues impacting all aspects of Britain's railways and England's strategic road network. The first of these podcasts deals with the key issue of rail accessibility.
The rail industry has taken a big step forward in its approach to providing assistance to passengers who need it, but it is crucial that this work continues. The work done by rail staff was recognised by both Scope’s Executive Director, James Taylor and the Office of Rail and Road’s Deputy Director of Consumers, Stephanie Tobyn, who appear on the Office of Rail and Road’s first podcast.
Both James and Stephanie highlight that reliability and consistency in assistance is the single biggest requirement for passengers, noting the significant impact on the individual when assistance fails.
The second podcast discusses the important issue of mental health and the rail industry's long standing partnership with the Samaritans.
ORR secures improvements on refunds from Eurostar
Eurostar’s website and service cancellation emails to passengers had provided prominent information about claiming an e-voucher for the cost of their ticket. However, ORR was concerned that Eurostar’s passenger communications may be misleading and unclear that passengers had a right to receive a full monetary refund rather than an e-voucher.
Following a meeting with ORR in December, Eurostar agreed to make the necessary changes in response to our concerns. Further information is available on our website.
Know your rights campaign
ORR communications apprentice, Holly Holden, has launched ORR’s campaign to better empower passengers and ensure they know their rights around various areas of rail travel - including refunds, ticketing terms and conditions, complaints, and the National Rail Conditions of Travel.
This campaign is going to run on our social media; please like, share and follow @railandroad on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can read more about the campaign in Holly’s blog.
Statistical Releases
On 17th December we published our freight rail usage and performance statistics for quarter 2 of 2020-21.
On 7th January we published Delay Compensation and Passenger Rail Complaints statistics for quarter 2 of 2020-21.
Stakeholder survey
ORR’s annual stakeholder engagement survey has begun and will be completed in March. If you are contacted by the agency running the survey (Savanta: ComRes), we would be most grateful if you could take part – we would welcome your feedback. All feedback given will help us to develop our strategy and continue to improve as an organisation.