ORR sets out new roadmap for key rail route timetables

ON April 13 the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) published the actions it believes are necessary to deliver timetable revisions on two of the UK’s busiest InterCity routes. New timetables planned for both the WCML and ECML should lead to a more efficient use of capacity and better resilience to disruption, benefiting train operators and ultimately passengers.

The rail regulator has written to Network Rail and the Department for Transport (DfT) setting out its understanding of the necessary decisions and issues needing resolution to ensure successful delivery of the new timetables.

West Coast Main Line

Planned for December 2022, the WCML project is now less than 40 weeks from implementation.

■ Network Rail needs to communicate its plan for access and processes for timetabling. Operators will then need to act in line with that plan.

■ Contractually, train and freight operators should have submitted timetable applications by now, providing operators and Network Rail with a certainty on the train services they can run.

■ Network Rail and DfT need to ensure ongoing power supply and platforming projects conclude as planned.

■ Network Rail needs to provide its conclusions on capacity and performance for existing access applications. Only then can ORR determine any disputed applications for this section of the network.

East Coast Main Line

The timetable due to be implemented in May 2023 has not yet been confirmed. Given the complexity of the options being considered and issues requiring resolution, key decisions need to be made by Network Rail and DfT soon.

■ A decision on the extra platform capacity issue at Newcastle is needed in the next month.

■ A plan is needed to resolve access and timetabling applications in time, in accordance with contractual obligations. Operators will then need to act in accordance with the plan.

■ Network Rail needs to manage the inclusion of freight access applications into the timetable and its projects to mitigate performance impacts.

The ORR notes that the ECML has faced access rights and timetabling issues for several years. It stresses that delaying decisions beyond April 2022 risks the same late decision on go/no-go that occurred in 2021, that resulted in uncertainty for train and freight operators requesting access to the network.