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Promoting safety and value in Britain’s railways: ORR’s strategy for 2009-14

4 December 2008
ORR/35/08

A new strategy to promote safety and value in Britain’s railways was  published today by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), the independent safety and economic rail regulator.

ORR Chairman Chris Bolt said:

“Rail users rightly expect services which are safe, meet their needs and give value for money.  Railways also have a wider importance to the economy and society.  As regulator we help ensure the industry delivers the levels of safety and value which rail users and taxpayers demand.

“The rail industry has achieved a great deal in the past five years but going forward it must deliver significant further improvements in safety, performance and efficiency, and increase capacity to meet the expected growth in passenger and freight traffic.  It must also develop robust and credible plans for further improvements to meet the demanding and difficult challenges beyond that.  Capacity requirements could double over the next 25 years, customers will demand better service and value for money, as will government funders of the railways.

“The industry can and should aim for safety, performance and efficiency equivalent to the best comparable railways in the world.  We stand ready to be judged on our own effectiveness as a regulator by whether the railways are successful in delivering that outcome.”
 
ORR’s strategy sets out a vision for the railways:

  • zero workforce and industry-caused passenger fatalities with an ever decreasing overall safety risk;
  • satisfaction levels of passengers and freight users equivalent to the best in railways and in other forms of transport and
  • efficiency equivalent to that achieved by the best comparable railways across the world.

ORR will judge its success as regulator by how close the industry comes to achieving this vision. ORR sets out seven key areas where the railways will need to improve if this is to be done

  • focusing on passenger and freight customer needs;
  • excellence in health and safety culture and risk control;
  • excellence in asset management;
  • improved industry planning and timely and efficient delivery of major projects;
  • efficient use of capacity on the mainline network;
  • development by the industry of the capabilities of its people;
  • high quality data and information for key decisions.


ORR will set its priorities based on these and will focus on

  • providing assurance of continuous improvement in health and safety performance across all railways, including London Underground, trams and the heritage sector;
  • monitoring  and, if necessary, taking enforcement action, to ensure that Network Rail delivers the improvements set as part of the 2008 periodic review;
  • carrying out its next periodic review in a way that ensures effective cross-industry planning to maximise rail’s contribution to meeting Britain’s transport needs cost-effectively and sustainably, to underpin decisions by governments in London and Edinburgh on future outputs and funding for the rail sector
  • keeping  under review the way different parts of the industry work together to deliver improved safety, performance and value for money and promoting improvement across the whole industry.

Press enquiries

ORR Press Office – 020 7282 2188

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