Health and safety

A safer, more efficient and better performing railway

Content archived on 01 July 2025

18 May 2016
Rail passengers and freight customers need a safe, reliable and efficient railway. Our role is to support the rail industry to deliver this and to ensure that every pound of the public’s money is well spent.

Comments invited on Railway Safety Regulations 1999 exemption application – train protection arrangements for running of Crossrail trains between Paddington and Heathrow Airport Junction

15 March 2016
Date published: 2 September 2015 Closing date: 27 October 2015 We invited comments on an exemption application we received from Network Rail Infrastructure Limited in association with Crossrail Limited and MTR Corporation (Crossrail) Limited concerning the train protection arrangements for the running of Class 345 Crossrail passenger trains between Paddington and Heathrow Tunnel Junction. The

Heritage train operator prohibited from running rail services

Content archived on 01 July 2025

17 February 2016
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has today issued a Prohibition Notice to West Coast Railway Company Ltd (WCRC) preventing it running its heritage rail services on the mainline railway. The Notice relates to concerns about WCRC’s management of safety, following a number of incidents over the past year.

Regulation 29 appeal by DBS for access and services at Freightliner Southampton Maritime Terminal

2 November 2015
Reg 29 appeal by DBS for access and services at FL Maritime Terminal Application form Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3a Appendix 3b Freightliner's representations Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 5 Appendix 7 DBS's representations Annex to DBS representations FL email ORR Decision Disclosure ORR Initial consideration FL reps on disclosure -19 May 2015 FL further reps -01 July 2015 ORR

ORR's health and safety compliance and enforcement policy statement 2015

20 August 2015
Date published: 20 August 2015 Closing date: 25 September 2015 This consultation document sets out how we use our powers to carry out our regulatory enforcement responsibilities arising from health and safety and other relevant legislation. It will replace the existing document last published in April 2013. ORR is the health and safety enforcing authority and National Safety Agency for Britain's

175 years making Britain’s railways safer

Content archived on 01 July 2025

18 August 2015
18 August 2015 Britain's railways are among the safest in Europe, but 175 years ago it was a different story. In the first decades of the nineteenth century, our pioneering railway system was unregulated, uncoordinated and to be honest, downright dangerous.

Britain’s railways now safest in Europe, but regulator highlights priorities for improvement

Content archived on 01 July 2025

21 July 2015
The Office of Rail and Road's (ORR) annual safety report published today, welcomes the rail industry's strong track record on improving safety and highlights the need for it to meet the challenges of growth and change. ORR is supporting the rail industry to take a more proactive approach to managing safety, predicting and preventing problems before they pose a safety risk.
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