ORR seeks views on railway licence changes to prepare for rail reform
27 July 2026
• Proposed changes maintain accountability and consumer protections.
• Views invited ahead of formal consultation later this year.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has published a discussion document setting out how it proposes to ensure railway licences are updated and ready for the reformed railway.
While Great British Railways (GBR) will have a newly drafted, single licence issued by the secretary of state, ORR will continue to be responsible for licensing the rest of the sector, including devolved, open access and freight operators. This includes around 50 non-GBR licence holders, holding some 90 licences in total. These licences are for operating different railway assets (for example, trains or stations) not controlled by GBR.
ORR is seeking to ensure that non-GBR operators’ existing licences are updated and ready for GBR and rail reform. Consumer standards and industry wide systems are the main areas where the regulator has highlighted changes to licences are most likely.
This will support clear and coherent standards and accountability across the whole sector.
ORR will continue to be responsible for monitoring and enforcing all railway licences. For both GBR and non GBR operators, railway licences will provide the basis for ORR enforcement and remain an important mechanism for implementing regulatory requirements and ensuring effective accountability arrangements across the sector.
Updates to licences are likely to be necessary to reflect the Passenger Watchdog’s new role setting consumer standards across the whole industry in areas such as passenger information, accessibility and complaints, and to ensure these standards are binding on both GBR and non-GBR operators.
In addition, as GBR takes on industry-wide systems and functions currently managed by the Rail Delivery Group, licence conditions relating to industry coordination will need to reflect GBR’s new role.
To enable a targeted and smooth transition to GBR however, the regulator is focusing on the changes necessary to support an effective licensing framework in the context of the reformed railway rather than reopening all existing licence conditions.
Stephanie Tobyn, Director, Strategy and Reform said:
This discussion document is the first stage of ORR’s engagement on this topic. A formal policy consultation is planned for the Autumn, aligned with the Department for Transport’s consultation on the GBR licence, so that stakeholders can consider both sets of proposals together.
Subject to the passage of the Railways Bill and progress on the GBR licence, a statutory consultation on specific licence modifications will follow, which ORR aims to complete ahead of GBR Day One.
Notes to Editors
- Discussion paper.
- Stakeholders are invited to respond by 18 September 2026 via ORR’s consultation webpage or by emailing strategyandreform@orr.gov.uk. ORR will also host an industry roundtable to allow further discussion; organisations wishing to attend or arrange a bilateral meeting should contact ORR directly.
- ORR’s discussion paper refers to licences required to operate railway assets. The rules around train driver licences remain separate.
