The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has published a discussion document setting out proposals for how it plans to ensure that railway licences are both updated and ready for the the official introduction of Great British Railways (GBR).
Whilst GBR will have a newly drafted, single license issued issued by the secretary of state, the ORR will remain responsible for licensing grants for the rest of the sector, including devolved, open access and freight operators – including around 50 non-GBR license holders and roughly 90 in total.
These licenses pertain to the operation of different railway assets, such as trains or stations not controlled by GBR.
The ORR has stated that it is seeking to ensure that non-GBR operators’ existing licenses are updated and ready for GBR and the associated rail reform, with consumer standards and industry wide systems expected to be where the regulator has highlighted changes to licenses are most likely.
Going forward, the ORR will continue to be responsible for monitoring and enforcing all railway licenses and, for both GBR and non-GBR operators, railway licenses will provide the basis for ORR enforcement and remain a key mechanism for the implementation of regulatory requirements, as well as ensuring effective accountability arrangements across the sector.
The ORR has explained that updates to licenses are likely to be necessary in order 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.
Additionally, as GBR takes on industry-wide systems and functions currently managed by the Rail Delivery Group, license conditions relating to industry coordination will be required to reflect GBR’s new role. With this in mind, the regulator is focusing on the changes necessary to support and 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 is part of ORR playing its role in getting the rail industry ready for GBR day one.
Licences may sound technical, but they set out the fundamental principles and processes through which passenger, freight and station operators work and will continue to be essential for us to hold these bodies to account on behalf of passengers and freight customers.
The published discussion topic represents the first stage of the ORR’s engagement on the licensing topic, with a formal policy consultation 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 has stated it aims to complete ahead of GBR Day One.
