Press releases

• Industry must retain a relentless focus on safety throughout rail reform. • Financial constraints on Network Rail require careful management in the coming years. • Network Rail is taking action where train performance needs to improve. Passenger train punctuality is largely stable, but cancellations have reached record highs, with train operator cancellations the dominant factor.

The Office of Rail and Road’s latest survey shows once again there remain too many instances of passengers not receiving the help they had booked. As part of the regulator’s priorities for the coming year, it will benchmark and rate each operator on its delivery of passenger assistance to better target interventions.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has rejected applications from three companies seeking track access contracts with Network Rail to run services on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has today written to Eurostar and new applicants seeking to run cross-channel rail services, to set out next steps for assigning access to Temple Mills International depot (TMI). Access to TMI is considered crucial to providing services from the UK to the continent.

The rail regulator (the Office of Rail and Road) is recommending improvements to how the rail industry handles revenue protection, making it more consistent, fairer and effective after concerns were raised about how rules are enforced.

The Office of Rail and Road has today published its study into how train operators at busy rail stations communicate and record requests by passengers for assistance. The study found that a dedicated staff app has proven beneficial, but there is much more scope to use data and the technology to make further improvements for passengers.

The Office of Rail and Road says redress claims for failed rail passenger booked assistance should always be assessed on a case-by-case basis, rather than based on ticket price, in a letter sent to the rail industry which seeks views on the proposal.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) says Eurostar’s London depot would be able if required to accommodate additional trains, following its receipt of an independent report it commissioned to investigate the matter. The report, published today, assessed the capacity at the operator’s Temple Mills International facility.

The regulator has today published 10 recommendations to help improve how the rail industry makes health and safety interventions effectively and efficiently on the rail network.

Safety continues to improve on England’s motorways and major A-roads, but National Highways is unlikely to meet its main safety target set by government, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said today in its third annual assessment of safety on the strategic road network.