The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has stated that Britain’s rail industry must maintain a ‘relentless focus on safety’ as it undergoes major reform in the coming months.
Speaking within the regulator’s annual health and safety report, which was published today (14 July 2026); the release comes weeks after the fatal train collision at Elstow, near Bedford, which highlighted the consequences of major rail accidents.
The ORR is currently liaising with the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, industry and other authorities in order to assist in ongoing investigations.
This year’s report highlights the need for the rail industry to maintain strict safety standards as it enters a period of major reform, with the ORR stating that whilst Britain’s railways continue to ‘operate safely overall’; the industry needs to show ‘greater urgency in delivering real improvements on issues such as over-speeding’, which is considered one of the most significant risks within the industry today.
Following a cross-industry meeting convened by the ORR last December, the regulator has claimed that ‘some progress’ has been made in the development of joint risk assessments for high-risk junctions and strengthening collaboration between track and train duty holders, but the ORR has stated that there is still ‘much more to do’.
The ORR has also stated that it will continue to encourage the rail industry to provide stronger welfare provisions for all railway workers, with the regulator committing to assessing provisions through inspections and engagement with industry.
Elsewhere, trackworker safety is also a key concern within the report, with ORR set to conduct targeted inspections focused on how Network Rail and its contractors manage welfare and risks when work is carried out on closed sections of track.
The ORR has claimed that financial pressures put upon Network Rail have affected the delivery of both renewals and other planned work, and where activities are deferred or reduced, Network Rail must be made to demonstrate that risks have been properly assessed and that suitable mitigations are in place.
Over the course of the next year, the ORR will continue to scrutinise industry over rising level-crossing fatalities and increasing violence and harassment towards railway staff – both of which are highlighted as concerns in the report.
Richard Hines, ORR’s HM Chief Inspector of Railways, said:The recent passenger train collision is a sobering reminder that, despite the railway's strong safety record, the consequences of a major accident can be severe.
Our thoughts remain with the family, friends and colleagues of the driver who lost their life, and with all those injured or affected by the accident.
Safety is never something Britain’s rail industry can take for granted. It has to be protected every day, through the decisions and actions of the people who design, operate and maintain the railway.
As rail reform progresses, there must be clear leadership, clear accountability and a relentless focus on known safety issues, such as overspeeding. Great British Railways is an opportunity to strengthen safety across the network, but change must not weaken protections or blur who is responsible for keeping passengers and workers safe.
