The inquiry will focus on how things could be made better in the interests of passengers and will consist of three stages:
- Evidence gathering
- Diagnosis – what went wrong and why?
- Develop recommendations
The inquiry will be undertaken under our duties in Section 51 of the Railway Act 2005 to provide the Secretary of State information or advice about matters connected to railways.
Stephen Glaister said:
"The interests of passengers and other rail users, who must be able to plan and book journeys with confidence, are paramount in running the railway.
"These interests will be the driving force for us in conducting this inquiry. Users can be assured our investigation will be independent of both government and industry.
"The inquiry will consider why the system as a whole failed to produce and implement an effective timetable. We will share our findings with the industry as soon as possible so lessons can be learned in advance of future major timetable changes. The final report will be published by the end of the year.
"This inquiry is in addition to our ongoing investigation into the timetabling process which has meant that a final timetable is only being produced six weeks in advance, rather than twelve. This work is considering how the issue arose, whether the industry is delivering against its obligations and is responding to minimise the impact on passengers."
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The Secretary of State for Transport has today announced that ORR will undertake an inquiry, led by ORR Chair Stephen Glaister, into May 2018 timetable implementation.
The inquiry will focus on how things could be made better in the interests of passengers and will consist of three stages:
- Evidence gathering
- Diagnosis – what went wrong and why?
- Develop recommendations
The inquiry will be undertaken under our duties in Section 51 of the Railway Act 2005 to provide the Secretary of State information or advice about matters connected to railways.
Stephen Glaister said:
"The interests of passengers and other rail users, who must be able to plan and book journeys with confidence, are paramount in running the railway.
"These interests will be the driving force for us in conducting this inquiry. Users can be assured our investigation will be independent of both government and industry.
"The inquiry will consider why the system as a whole failed to produce and implement an effective timetable. We will share our findings with the industry as soon as possible so lessons can be learned in advance of future major timetable changes. The final report will be published by the end of the year.
"This inquiry is in addition to our ongoing investigation into the timetabling process which has meant that a final timetable is only being produced six weeks in advance, rather than twelve. This work is considering how the issue arose, whether the industry is delivering against its obligations and is responding to minimise the impact on passengers."