Regulator: Passenger train performance on the High Speed 1 network improves, but action needed on management of lifts and escalators

30 July 2025

The high speed route from London to the Channel Tunnel, operated by London St. Pancras High Speed, saw significantly improved train performance in the latest reporting year alongside increases in traffic volumes, the Office of Rail and Road said today (30 July) in its annual report on London St. Pancras High Speed. However, the regulator has required the company to improve how it manages its assets, including lifts and escalators, where issues persist.

London St. Pancras High Speed reduced the number of services it delayed to around one in every 400 train services between April 2024 and March 2025, down from around three in every 400 services in the previous year. The average delay per train was 4.2 seconds, around one third of the average delay compared to the year before. This is despite traffic volumes increasing by 8% overall.

Performance issues are now being dominated by low likelihood, high impact incidents, which included a major points failure and two external power supply disruptions in the latest year. The regulator is urging London St. Pancras High Speed to review how it recovers from major incidents.

The regulator is also requiring London St. Pancras High Speed to improve its management of station assets, specifically lifts and escalators. One significant incident at Ebbsfleet International Station highlighted by the regulator’s report saw two members of the public needing hospital attention. Meanwhile, across its infrastructure portfolio, better forecasting of asset condition is needed, as well as increased preparedness for extreme weather-related risks.

In its recent Final Determination for PR24, ORR required London St. Pancras High Speed to accelerate improvements to its management of assets, including lifts and escalators. The regulator has told the company that it will continue to monitor this area closely.

Feras Alshaker, Director, Planning and Performance, said:

"London St. Pancras High Speed continues to deliver a good experience for its users overall, with reliability and punctuality much higher than the mainline network. As the high speed line nears two decades of operation, it is important that London St. Pancras High Speed learns lessons from its own and other networks to sustain these high levels of performance as its assets age."

Notes to editors

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the independent economic and safety regulator for Great Britain’s railways, and also has regulatory powers to hold National Highways to account. It has duties to regulate London St. Pancras Highspeed under lease agreements that the company holds with the Secretary of State for Transport.
About the high speed network:
- The HS1 network is a 109km high-speed rail line that connects London St. Pancras through Kent to the Channel Tunnel.
- There are four stations on the line: London St. Pancras, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International.
- The network is currently used by domestic SouthEastern ‘Javelin’ services between London and Kent and within Kent; and Eurostar passenger trains.