Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)

As the railway industry's economic regulator, the ORR's principal function is to regulate Network Rail's stewardship of the national network.

The ORR also:

Licenses operators of railway assets
Approves agreements for access by operators to track, stations and light maintenance depots
Enforces domestic competition law.

The ORR is led by a Board appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport. Its Chairman, Chris Bolt, has also been appointed International Rail Regulator (IRR) by the Secretary of State.

The Railways Act 2005 gave the ORR responsibility for railway safety as well. On 1 April 2006, in addition to its role as economic regulator, ORR also became the safety regulator for the rail industry, taking over this responsibility from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

More information about the ORR can be found on their website.

How are we Regulated

We are regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for our stewardship of the railway.

During 2006, responsibility for railway-related health and safety regulation will be transferred to the ORR, creating a single economic and safety regulator for the railway.