Hello and welcome to March's newsletter
As many of you will know, last month we saw a step forward in the Government’s rail reform agenda with the publication of their consultation: “A railway fit for Britain’s future”.
We have engaged with Government throughout the reform process and will continue to do so through the consultation period, offering advice on the future regime, bringing to bear our three decades of experience and expertise in independent rail regulation. With the Government’s broad proposals now public, we are keen to discuss the detail, and the likely changes, with all those across industry who may be affected by them. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at events in the coming month where we can have these discussions. We are of course also pursuing our day job and have been focusing on the revenue protection review investigation we were asked to lead by the Secretary of State for Transport.
February also brought the conclusion of much work on two court cases after tragic worker deaths. And our safety teams worked closely with our performance teams in writing to Network Rail on concerns with the process of their structures examinations.
Finally, work is now under way compiling our rail reports, which we will present to stakeholders at an event in July. Look out for details in the coming weeks.
John Larkinson
Chief Executive Officer
Top stories
Network Rail fined £3.75m and £3.41m following track worker deaths in Margam, South Wales and Surbiton, London
Network Rail has been fined £3.75 million and ordered to pay costs of £175,000 after pleading guilty to an offence where it failed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of employees, in respect of the risks from trains to people at work on or near the line, following an investigation and prosecution by ORR. Two track workers were fatally injured and a third narrowly escaped death in the incident at Margam, South Wales in 2019.
ORR’s investigation found systematic and wide-ranging safety failures by Network Rail in its measures to protect those working on or near the line from trains, resulting from inadequacies in its processes and management systems.
Since the accident there has been a step change in the way that the rail industry manages track worker safety, with Network Rail almost entirely ending working when trains remain running during track work and employing new technologies to reduce the risk of harm. However, further incidents that resulted in worker fatalities near Roade in 2020 and Surbiton in 2021 (please see below) and reports of near misses means Network Rail and the industry must remain committed in its focus on track worker safety.
Network Rail also pleaded guilty and has been subsequently fined £3.41 million for a similar offence relating to the death of a track worker who was struck, and fatally injured, by a passenger train in Surbiton in 2021. ORR’s investigation identified failings with the planning, monitoring and supervision to ensure the workers were adequately protected while carrying out their maintenance activities on the track.
Richard Hines, HM Chief Inspector of Railways, said: “Our industry’s track workers play a crucial role in delivering a safe railway for passengers and users of the system, often working in challenging and difficult conditions. It’s essential that they are also protected from harm.”
Recording and monitoring Network Rail assets
In February we wrote to Network Rail to say that we are not satisfied that the company is doing all that it should to meet its own standards of recording and monitoring all of its assets. Assets include tracks, bridges, tunnels, viaducts, signalling, embankments, and vegetation management, for example. We have set out the steps we expect the company to take and note that Network Rail is taking the matter seriously. Read the letter from ORR Chief Inspector of Railways, Richard Hines and Director of Planning and Performance, Feras Alshaker.
Rail reform - Bill consultation launched
The Government launched the Railways Bill Consultation on 18 February. The consultation, which closes at 11.59pm on 15 April 2025, is seeking views on how the new Great British Railways (GBR) body will provide reliable services for passengers across the country and work better for taxpayers. Proposals include:
- establishing a new passenger watchdog.
- reform of fares and selling tickets online.
- a new statutory role for devolved leaders in governing, managing, planning and developing the rail network.
- streamlining processes and reducing regulatory burdens to empower GBR to deliver the best service for railway users.
- ensuring the private sector continues to play a key role, including a statutory duty for GBR to promote rail freight.
We welcome the plans for Rail Reform and look forward to working closely with the Department for Transport and other industry bodies as the plans are developed in more detail.
Find out more about the consultation.
Blog
How we're strengthening health and safety in the heritage sector
Simon Barber, HM Principal Inspector of Railways, Heritage Team, has written a blog on how a series of ORR workshops delivered in collaboration with the Heritage Rail Association have been helping to improve the health and safety practices of UK minor railways and tramways.
Statistics
In February we published the following statistics:
- Passenger lifts at stations 1 Apr 2024 - 12 Oct 2024 (Periods 1-7) Published 20 February 2025. This is the first time ORR has published data on lifts at stations. This forms part of our Passenger Accessibility statistics and includes information on the number of lifts, lift reliability and lift entrapments.