Components
This publication provides management information on access rights planning and use. It provides a holistic view of passenger track access rights and can display how these are being used across the network including:
- track access applications made by freight and passenger operators of rail services in Great Britain;
- the submission and approval timescales for passenger track applications against the timetable production milestones of the Network Code; and
- information on the use of access rights by passenger operators.
The latest data includes applications up to the Subsidiary Timetable Change which began operation on 2 June 2024. Download the factsheet for more details.
The factsheet is accompanied by a Power BI dashboard and data tables available below.
View the glossary for more information on dashboard terminology.
Key messages
- Passenger train operators made 27 applications for additional or different capacity use (track access) for the timetable change date on 2 June 2024 which required ORR’s specific approval.
- 10 of the applications were submitted after the industry deadline for publishing the timetable, which introduces risk of timetabled services for passengers not having the right to use the network. This represented an improvement over the December 2023 timetable change, where 13 out of 24 applications requiring ORR’s specific approval were approved after the industry timetable should have been published.
- As of 2 June 2024, passenger operators planned to use 89 per cent of the total contracted rights (capacity) allocated.
- Passenger operators actually ran train services which used 84 per cent of the total capacity allocated in terms of rights.
- Use of rights for most operators is impacted by planned engineering access. However, industrial action and short notice engineering work as well as decisions by operators and funders on when services run impact the use of rights.
- A number of operators updated their access rights in this timetable change following the increased transparency of contracts following the 10 December 2023 timetable ORR publication.
- We have excluded access rights usage figures for Elizabeth Line while we work with Network Rail and the operator to understand the methodology for train counts which traverse different NR regions either side of the Central Operating Section.
About ORR's role
ORR approves (or directs) the granting of access rights and monitors the timing of Network Rail and train operators’ applications. Comparing when an application is made against the Network Code timescales is important because:
- passengers can have greater confidence that timetabled services will run because they are supported by a contract;
- an operator has a contractual priority giving greater certainty its related services will run as planned in the timetable;
- the greater certainty supports better operational planning for trains and crew.