ORR gives approval for new services at Peterborough

24 November 2023

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has today (24 November) given the go-ahead for Grand Central, an open access operator, to serve Peterborough railway station, offering more journey opportunities and choice to passengers.

The approval will enable two existing daily Grand Central services in each direction to call at Peterborough between Monday and Saturday.

ORR supports new open access where it delivers competition for the benefit of passengers and can fit alongside existing services without unduly impacting performance on the network. In making this decision, we have weighed this up against the impact on Government funds and effect on other users of the railway.

Stephanie Tobyn, Director, Strategy, Policy & Reform, said:

Open access services promote competition on the rail network and give passengers more choice about how they travel. With passenger numbers still not quite recovered following the pandemic, it’s important that the network provides options for all as the industry looks to increase passenger journeys.

ORR plays a crucial role in overseeing competition on our railway, and we’ll continue to assess open access applications with the goal of providing greater consumer choice, value and performance.