Consultations

Reference: ORR/005/2012 Date published: 17 May 2012 Start date: 17 May 2012 Closing date: 10 August 2012 On 17 May 2012 we published our Periodic review 2013 consultation on the variable usage charge and a freight specific charge. The purpose of the consultation was to: consult on work undertaken to review the variable usage charge paid by both passenger and freight operators to recover the cost

Reference: ORR/003/2012 Date published: 3 May 2012 Start date: 3 May 2012 Closing date: 12 July 2012 (extended from 28 June 2012 – see below) On 3 May 2012, we published a further consultation on the alignment of incentives between Network Rail and train operators to improve cost efficiency. This PR13 consultation provided an update on our position on the introduction of route-level efficiency

Reference: ORR/020/2011 Date published: 14 December 2011 Start date: 14 December 2011 Closing date: 8 February 2012 On 14 December 2011, we published a consultation document on detailed issues and proposals relating to incentives as part of our work on PR13. This follows our first consultation document on PR13 which we published in May. The Rail Value for Money study highlighted a lack of

Reference: ORR/017/2011 Date published: 4 October 2011 Start date: 4 October 2011 Closing date: 4 December 2011 This consultation asked for stakeholder views on the potential for increased on-rail competition. It forms part of our programme of work for the 2013 periodic review (PR13). During PR13 we have to make key decisions on the outputs that Network Rail should deliver and the levels of access

Reference: ORR/014/2011 Date published: 26 July 2011 Start date: 26 July 2011 Closing date: 14 October 2011 On 25 May 2011 we published our first consultation document on the periodic review 2013 (PR13). The document explains the context, process and timetable; sets out our proposed objective for PR13 and consults on a range of key issues relating to the approach we will take to determining

Reference: ORR/013/2011 Date published: 25 May 2011 Start date: 25 May 2011 Closing date: 2 September 2011 A periodic review is a programme of work through which decisions are made on what outputs Network Rail should deliver and the levels of access charges payable by train operators and other sources of funding the company receives. PR13 will establish outputs and access charges/funding for

Date published: 29 October 2013 Closing date: 31 January 2014 Connection contracts are formal agreements between parties who wish to connect their networks together. New connection contracts between Network Rail and other parties do not need specific approval by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) if they are covered by our general approval. This consultation invites views on how our model

Start date: 16 March 2011 End date: 8 June 2011 We have consulted on proposed modifications to the station access conditions (SACs) and to the independent station access conditions (ISACs) that: are designed to streamline and speed up the station change process; seek to enable and facilitate station change by providing a mechanism where financial compensation issues are addressed through a

We have received a very varied response to our consultation on proposals to clarify and consolidate accountability for providing passenger information in licences.

Start date: 6 April 2011 End date: 20 May 2011 We have consulted on our policy regarding the variable usage charges applied to vehicles that have been modified to reduce track damage. The variable usage charge is set to reflect track wear and tear costs. It thereby incentivises train manufacturers, owners and operators to invest in track-friendly vehicles. In this consultation, we proposed to give

Start date: 26 October 2010 End date: 5 April 2011 We consulted on the methodology and values for calculating defined service group revenue for each franchised train operator. The defined service group revenue is one benchmark used to identify whether an operator has experienced a period of sustained planned disruption (SPD), typically as a result of Network Rail's planned engineering activities

Start date: 2 July 2010 End date: 26 August 2010 In June 2010, we published a report on a high level review of track access charges and options for CP5, which we commissioned from CEPA (Cambridge Economic Policy Associates). We consulted on the charging options set out in the report, and on the current structure of track access charges more generally. We have now concluded on this consultation and

Start date: 25 November 2009 End date: 28 January 2010 In November 2009, we started a review of arrangements for establishing track access charges for CP4 by writing to the industry and consulting on these arrangements. We have now concluded on this consultation and the conclusions are set out in Periodic Review 2013 first consultation annexes, that were published on 25 May 2011. The conclusions

Reference: ORR/015/2011 Date published: 19 July 2011 Start date: 12 July 2011 Closing date: 23 August 2011 We issued a new general approval pdf icon PDF, 353 Kb on 9 February 2012 which replaced four freight track access general approvals relating to access to Network Rail's network. General approvals allow freight operators and freight customers to enter into or amend track access contracts with

Reference: ORR/002/2012 Date published: 25 February 2012 Start date: 25 February 2012 Closing date: 31 March 2012 In accordance with the Equality Act 2010, the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) will publish equality objectives. As a public body ORR has an obligation to give due regard to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity, and fostering good relations for people sharing

Reference: ORR/004/2012 Date published: 14 May 2012 Start date: 14 May 2012 Closing date: 11 June 2012 We consulted on some changes to our penalties policy, in light of the comments we received from our previous 'role of the regulator' consultation (December 2011). These changes will give us more flexibility to consider accepting commitments to make improvements for passengers as an alternative to

Reference: ORR/006/2012 Date published: 18 July 2012 Start date: 18 July 2012 Closing date: 14 September 2012 On 18 July 2012, we published a consultation on proposals to formalise the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) by including new conditions in the operating licenses of train operators and Network Rail requiring them to be members of, and participate in the work of, RDG. RDG was established in June

Joint Regulators Group (JRG) statement on cost benefit analysis methodology JRG has published a statement on the methodology used for discounting for cost-benefit analyses (CBAs). These analyses may be used by regulators when considering measures that generate consumer or wider public benefits, while requiring regulated firms to incur some costs. CBAs enable regulators to estimate the value of the

Reference: ORR/012/2012 Date published: 3 December 2012 Start date: 3 December 2012 Closing date: 18 January 2013 We have asked for views on how the arrangements for regulating with Network Rail's land disposals have worked in practice over the last two years and to propose some further improvements. We last revised our arrangements in October 2010, at the same time as the rail value for money

Reference: ORR/004/2013 Date published: 26 February 2013 Start date: 26 February 2013 Closing date: 23 April 2013 The general approval (stations) and general approval (depots) 2010 have been in force for over two years. To ensure the policies remain fit for purpose, we wrote to access parties – those with day to day use of the general approvals – to seek their views on some changes we proposed and

Reference: ORR/001/2013 Date published: 21 January 2013 Start date: 21 January 2013 Closing date: 15 February 2013 This consultation reported on the draft business plan that ORR developed using its new strategic objectives as a basis to describe the activities to deliver its priorities for the year 2013-14. All ORR's stakeholders should have an interest in how it proposes to regulate the industry

Reference: ORR/003/2013 Date published: 19 February 2013 Start date: 19 February 2013 Closing date: 16 April 2013 The concession agreement, a contract between High Speed 1 (HS1) Limited, which owns and operates the HS1 network, and the secretary of state for transport, sets out the purpose, and in general terms, the process for conducting periodic reviews. The concession agreement sets out ORR's

We sought views on a draft exemption to allow the placing on the market of asbestos-containing railway vehicles, and asbestos-containing components of railway vehicles. This stems from a consultation by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on proposals for draft regulations that would allow the placing on the market and use of a second-hand asbestos-containing article

The Localism Act 2011 requires local planning authorities, and certain other public bodies to cooperate in planning processes which are of bigger than local significance, by engaging "constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis" to develop strategic policies. In particular, the duty: relates to sustainable development or use of land that would have a significant impact on at least two local