The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has today opened an investigation into whether Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Northern breached its requirements to do everything reasonably practicable to provide appropriate, accurate and timely information to passengers in the run-up to the May 2018 timetable and during the disruption that followed.
The action comes after the ORR’s timetable Inquiry last month identified concerns with information provided to passengers who use Northern and GTR’s Thameslink and Great Northern services.
The ORR is investigating whether GTR and Northern breached Condition 4 of their ‘Statement of National Regulatory Provisions’ which requires train companies to provide “appropriate, accurate and timely information to enable railway passengers and prospective passengers to plan and make their journeys with a reasonable degree of assurance, including when there is disruption.”
ORR will use evidence gathered from its current monitoring and Inquiry to date and any further information provided to ORR in the course of the investigation.
ORR has written to GTR and Northern for their responses and aims to conclude its investigation before the end of November 2018.
The opening of an investigation does not imply that we have made any findings about non-compliance by either company. If ORR finds the companies in breach of their licence obligations, it could result in enforcement action such as a financial penalty.
Notes to editors
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- Letters to GTR and Northern
- Timetable Inquiry report