Office of Rail and Road October 2024 newsletter

Hello and welcome to the October newsletter

It’s been a busy few months since my formal appointment in June and the launch of our Annual Health and Safety Report in July.

Although I’m still settling into the role, I’ve spent a significant amount of time meeting many of our stakeholders and out on the railway which I’ve found to be extremely valuable.

My approach will be one of evolution, not revolution, in terms of our regulatory role. In particular, strong collaboration with all parts of the industry will continue to feature heavily in our approach. As you’d expect, I’ll be spending some time over the coming months with my team to reflect on my early experiences and explore opportunities to deliver regulatory excellence in all that we do. I’ll share more details on this in due course.

Since we launched our business plan, we have been working on a wide range of activities. This includes writing to the rail industry following a series of unacceptable ‘stranded train’ events that occurred towards the end of last year.

I’ve been particularly keen to ensure that this is seen as a ‘whole system’ issue and that operational preparedness arrangements are tested to ensure they work on the ground, when needed. It was particularly pleasing to note the collaborative way in which Network Rail Regions and Train Operating Companies (with overarching support from the System Operator) had worked together to provide single, joined-up, responses.

We are now making progress with plans to host an industry event in early 2025 to pull together the themes and outcomes from this work.

Fatigue at work continues to be an important area of focus given that it is causative in many rail accidents. We were pleased to publish our refreshed guidance on managing rail staff fatigue in August.

The helpful comments and feedback we received from our stakeholders through the consultation process were really valuable in shaping the end product – thank you to everyone who contributed. It was a privilege to stand alongside my team and speak with over 100 senior industry leaders at the launch event in London about our expectations in this area and the inspection work we are about to undertake as part of a 3-year strategic intervention.

Whilst we work collaboratively across the industry, we do have a responsibility to investigate incidents, and where serious failings are identified to take formal action under the law to hold duty holders to account.

It is in that context that we recently concluded the prosecution of the Severn Valley Railway after a painter suffered serious injuries in a fall from height incident. The company were fined £40,000 plus costs of £48,000.

Our inspectors recently met with heritage operators across the sector through a series of in-person workshop events to reinforce our expectations of the control measures that must be followed to carry out maintenance tasks. Sadly, incidents like this remain too common – poor standards are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Finally, I wanted to offer my remembrance condolences to everyone who was affected by the Ladbroke Grove train incident that happened on 5 October 1999.

For the upcoming 25th anniversary of this tragic event, I will be paying my respects by representing ORR at a wreath laying ceremony and time of reflection at the Memorial Garden in Kensington, London.

Whilst Great Britain now has one of the safest railways in the world, we cannot, and should not, be complacent. My team and I will continue to invest all of our efforts to ensure that our railways remain safe for passengers, the public, and workers.

Richard Hines
Director of Railway Safety / HM Chief Inspector of Railways

Top stories

Improved reliability for rail passengers in Wales and Western England following our intervention  

We have accepted a comprehensive plan by Network Rail to improve train reliability and punctuality in Wales & Western England. This plan was developed in response to our investigation that found Network Rail was not doing enough to address the underlying issues causing poor train performance.

The original proposals by Network Rail lacked sufficient detail and timelines, so we required a more robust plan. Network Rail responded positively and proactively, drafting a comprehensive plan that we have now approved. The plan includes a series of actions to be completed by 2026, such as Investing in asset reliability and performance and changing how NR governs regionally for greater focus on punctuality and reliability. We will closely monitor the implementation of this plan.

ORR calls for action after concerns about reliability of Northern Trains’ help for disabled passengers

We have requested to see an improvement plan from Northern Trains due to its poor performance in assisting disabled passengers. Despite previous warnings, Northern has failed to address the root causes of the issue or put in place effective solutions. We will now closely monitor Northern’s progress and have challenged the company to make significant changes to improve its service for disabled passengers.

Severn Valley Railway fined £40,000 after painter suffers serious injuries in fall from height

Severn Valley Railway has been fined £40,000. They were also ordered to pay £48,000 costs and an £181 victim surcharge following our investigation and prosecution for safety violations after an employee suffered serious injuries from a fall. The company was found to have neglected safety standards when the employee was working at height without a harness. Our inspectors have recently met with heritage rail operators across the sector to reinforce expectations of them around their safety arrangements.

ORR hosts Managing Rail Staff Fatigue event

Following the publication in August of an update to our Rail Staff Fatigue guidance, ORR hosted an event with stakeholders to discuss how to better manage fatigue risk, featuring presentations from key members of the ORR team, explaining how to work with the guidance.

Authorisation given for new station in Bristol  

Ashley Down railway station is now opened after we gave our approval for the new halt, which will provide a new hourly service to Bristol Temple Meads. This station is part of the MetroWest programme and is located on the site of the former Ashley Hill Train station. The ORR worked closely with Network Rail and the West of England Combined Authority to ensure that the station meets high standards for safety, accessibility, and environmental protection.

Aberdare Station’s new arrivals platform is also now authorised for use. The station, part of the South Wales Metro, will offer level boarding and easy access for passengers. This is a significant step in improving connectivity in South Wales.

Podcasts

The Rail and Road Pod Episode 24: Holding National Highways to Account

We speak to Rachel Gittens, Deputy Director for the roads team at ORR and Iain Ritchie, Head of Highways Safety and Performance, to learn more about ORR’s annual assessment and investigation of National Highways.

Statistics

In September we have published the following statistics:

• Passenger rail performance: Cancellations data: 21 Jul 2024 – 17 Aug 2024 (Period 5)
• Passenger rail performance: Apr – Jun 2024 (Q1)
• Signals passed at danger (SPADs): Apr – Jun 2024 (Q1)
• Freight rail usage and performance: Apr – Jun 2024 (Q1)
• Rail safety: Annual (2023-24)