{"id":255716,"date":"2025-07-23T23:28:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T13:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?guid=792763473de87d24b760b3a0b7971ffb"},"modified":"2025-07-23T23:28:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T13:28:33","slug":"summer-2025-orr-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=255716","title":{"rendered":"Summer 2025 ORR newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer 2025 ORR newsletter <\/span>
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July marks the month when we publish our annual reports for the areas that we oversee. Summaries of our work in holding Network Rail and National Highways to account, health and safety across the rail industry, and our consumer activity follow below. Separately, our annual assessment of London St Pancras Highspeed will be published at the end of July. <\/p>\n

It was a pleasure to see so many of you again at our event in London (pictured above) discussing our published rail reports. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, we have continued to support recent UK Government commissions to reduce<\/a> the administrative burden of regulation on industry and on our deep dive to encourage greater private investment<\/a> in the railway. In respect of the latter, I am grateful for the engagement from industry and wider stakeholders in helping to identify barriers to investment and how to support investor confidence.  <\/p>\n

I wish you a restful break over the summer. Our newsletter will return for its September issue. <\/p>\n

John Larkinson<\/strong>
Chief Executive<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Top stories<\/h2>\n

Annual reports<\/h3>\n

ORR has released its four annual reports covering Network Rail, Industry-wide Health and Safety; National Highways, and Consumers. <\/p>\n

Rail safety performance remains generally strong but industry must keep focus on safety throughout rail reform<\/h3>\n

\"ORR<\/p>\n

Our annual report on health and safety<\/a> focuses heavily this year on Network Rail\u2019s assets. Substantial progress was made in addressing overdue assessments for structures and drainage assets, although this has been achieved following our focussed attention.<\/p>\n

The report underscores that safety remains the railway\u2019s most critical obligation, especially as the industry undergoes its most significant reform in a generation with the creation of Great British Railways. The report stresses the importance of strong leadership, collaboration, and proactive risk management to maintain safety standards. Noting ORR\u2019s enforcement actions and oversight have been instrumental in addressing these issues. The report notes several high-potential risk events, particularly at level crossings, signals passed at danger, and overspeeding. It also highlights a freight train derailment in Audenshaw that exposed weaknesses in maintenance arrangements.  <\/p>\n

The report also calls for clear accountability and visible safety leadership to ensure that health and safety remains a guiding principle throughout the ongoing industry reform process, while also promoting a more inclusive and resilient safety culture<\/p>\n

The report also covers our work on welfare provision and the Improvement Notices and criminal prosecutions we concluded over the last year.  <\/p>\n

Strong efficiency gains but \u00a3488m funding gap needs resolving  \u2013 our Annual Assessment of Network Rail<\/h3>\n

\"Passengers<\/p>\n

Our Annual Assessment of Network Rail<\/a> found that punctuality remained largely stable in the last year but cancellations reached record highs. While most cancellations were attributed to Train Operating Companies (TOCs), Network Rail missed its national targets for reliability and punctuality although these are whole industry targets. NR met national targets for its own delay minutes.<\/p>\n

On the efficiency side, Network Rail delivered strong gains in 2024-25, achieving \u00a3325 million in savings – \u00a363 million above target. However, the company has a significant funding gap of \u00a3488 million which we have asked it to take action to resolve.  <\/p>\n

You can read more, including regional breakdowns.<\/p>\n

National Highways delivers major schemes and savings but key targets missed<\/h3>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

ORR\u2019s assessment of National Highways\u2019 performance<\/a> over the last five years noted the company opened fifty major enhancement schemes to traffic with another eleven under construction; achieved improved environmental outcomes; met targets for clearing incidents, mitigating the impact of roadworks; and maintaining the road surface in good condition..  <\/p>\n

National Highways also made \u00a32.2bn in efficiency savings, more than its target. This is notable in the context of high inflation during the period, and a significantly altered programme, including the National Emergency Area Retrofit scheme on all lane running smart motorways.<\/p>\n

However, the company missed or is likely to miss five of its 12 key performance indicators, for reasons both within and outside its control.  <\/p>\n

National Highways has however already made good progress on the improvement plan it produced following ORR action last year. We will continue to work with it in the coming period to support its contribution to driving economic growth.    <\/p>\n

Consumer Report : A Busy Year!<\/h3>\n

It has been a busy year on the consumer front, and the Consumer Annual Report<\/a> covers our main interventions in areas where we have responsibility. Among other things it includes our work:  <\/p>\n