Office of Rail and Road March 2026 newsletter
27 February 2026
At ORR, one of our core responsibilities is to provide robust, independent scrutiny of National Highways’ performance across the Strategic Road Network in England.
Our benchmarking sits at the heart of this work – allowing us to understand how National Highways is performing across its six regions, identify where national standards are being met or have fallen short, and highlight where efforts could be focused to deliver the best possible outcomes for road users.
This edition features the findings from our regional performance analysis for the second road period (RP2) which spanned April 2020 to March 25.
The picture across National Highways’ regions is mixed. Yorkshire and the North East stands out as the best-performing region for incident clearance and pavement condition, while the South West continues to record the highest levels of user satisfaction. However, the South East performed lowest across four key performance metrics, and the Midlands recorded the lowest level of user satisfaction across the network but saw improvements in areas such as incident clearance and pavement condition.
As the interim period to the next Road Period draws to a close, this benchmarking provides valuable insight and provides the opportunity for National Highways to consider how it can continue to improve the strategic road network for all users.
The government is set to publish its Road Investment Strategy for the third road period (RIS3) imminently and ORR has and continues to play a key role in this process.
Our Efficiency Review of National Highways’ draft strategic business plan considered a range of issues, including how challenging and deliverable these plans were. We scrutinised how National Highways addresses the long-term sustainability of its ageing asset base; and assessed the robustness and efficiency of its plans.
ORR has provided advice to the Secretary of State for Transport on National Highways’ plans for RIS3, with our recommendations set to be published alongside the final strategy, ahead of the new road period’s start in April 2026.
Our work will help government maximise the long-term benefits of investment in the strategic road network – delivering better outcomes for road users, supporting economic growth, and providing better value for money for taxpayers.
We encourage all stakeholders to engage with the data, regional summaries and interactive dashboards we have published, and welcome your continued input as we move into this important new phase.
Rachel Gittens
Deputy Director, Strategic Road Network
Top stories
ORR’s new Benchmarking Review presents a mixed picture
ORR has published new regional benchmarking for National Highways’ second road period (2020–2025), giving the clearest view yet of how performance varies across the Strategic Road Network. Safety has improved overall—with killed or seriously injured casualties down in every region except the North West, and the largest reductions in the East and in Yorkshire & the North East. Average delay has increased above 2019 levels across all regions; the South East records the highest delays and least reliable journeys. Incident clearance remains a relative strength, led by Yorkshire & the North East, which cleared around 89.7% of motorway incidents within an hour (vs 88.7% SRN average, 86% target).
Rail complaints getting resolved promptly
New ORR statistics show that between April and September 2025 train operators closed 164,809 complaints, up 4% year on year, compared to an 8% increase in journeys. 97.6% of cases were closed within 20 working days and 74.8% in 10 working days. ORR continues to work with operators on both the speed and quality of complaint responses, and to provide an escalation route when passengers are unhappy with how operators have dealt with their complaints through our sponsorship of the Ombudsman. Full tables and dashboards are available on ORR’s Data Portal.
Northumberland Park Station latest authorisation
We authorised Northumberland Park Station in North Tyneside — the fifth of six stations on the Northumberland Line — ahead of its opening on Sunday 22 February. Working closely with Northumberland County Council, Network Rail and Northern Trains, we confirmed that the station meets required standards on health and safety, accessibility and environmental protection. The station features step-free access, a new platform and waiting shelter, and is conveniently located next to the existing Tyne & Wear Metro station. The final station on the line, Bedlington, is expected to open in March 2026.
Newest cohort of Trainee Inspectors start at ORR
Ten new ORR trainee health and safety inspectors have begun their training programme which will span the next couple of years. The programme covers regulatory, technical and legal elements to ensure that the next generation of inspectors is fully equipped to continue to ensure the safest possible railway. You can hear from some of our newest recruits here.
ORR Strengthens Westminster Links At Parliamentary Drop-In
ORR engages regularly with our parliamentary stakeholders throughout the year, and we hold an annual ‘drop-in’ in Westminster as part of this. We greatly valued the opportunity to discuss our work and our plans in early February with members from the House of Lords and House of Commons and their teams and to answer their questions about our role and its impact in their local area.
Statistics
In February we published the following statistics:
- Passenger rail service complaints – Apr – Jun 2025 (Q1)Jul – Sep 2025 (Q2)
- Signals passed at danger (SPADs) – Oct – Dec 2025 (Q3)
