HS1 ordered to lower fees on line to Channel Tunnel

The UK’s Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has ordered HS1, which connects London St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel, to lower its charges from April 2025, stating the line was not fulfilling its duties for efficient spending.
The high-speed line, used by Southeastern and Eurostar passenger and freight trains, has been told to reduce its fees by 3.8 per cent from its latest plans published in November. The price drop means that passenger and freight trains could save up to 5 million pounds (€6.02m) a year.

“The regulator has determined that overall charges should come down by 3.8 per cent (£5m per year) compared to HS1 Ltd’s latest plans,” the regulator stated this morning. “As part of this, the company is being directed to reduce its charges for renewing its track assets and its stations, including St Pancras. It must also reduce its charges for its day-to-day operations and maintenance of the railway.”

ORR said it had been able to identify “specific areas” in the company’s spending plans where “further improvements can be made, resulting in savings to passenger and freight train operators.” It added that “better management of the track and station assets can result in lower charges.”

How it breaks down

How the ORR's final ruling was broken down.
How the ORR’s final ruling was broken down. © ORR

The specific areas that the ORR said had to be revised included HS1’s charges for renewals, saying they were not efficient and must be reduced by £1.9m per year for the HS1 Route and by £0.9m per year for station renewals. Meanwhile, its charges for operations and maintenance were also deemed inefficient, with ORR stating they must come down by £2.3m per year.

As for passenger growth, ORR said its ruling was separate from the decision on access to HS1, but it assumed a lower price would support long-term growth in passenger traffic, including the introduction of new operators.

The decision will mean HS1’s total regulated income will come down by more than 10 per cent compared to what it spent previously. Feras Alshaker, ORR’s director of planning and performance, said: “Although, overall, HS1’s original plans were good, the company must now change specific areas of those plans to account for our decisions, which should benefit everyone who uses this railway.”

This article was originally published on our sister publication RailTech.com

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