Operator contracts & licences

Railway operations are regulated under two key pieces of legislation. The Railway (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2005 (the Regulations) cover railway undertakings providing passenger and/or freight goods services, and the Railways Act 1993 (the Act) provides for operators of other passenger and non-passenger trains, stations, networks and light maintenance depots.

The Railway Infrastructure (Access and Management) Regulations 2005 open up a range of facilities to non-discriminatory access unless a viable alternative under market conditions exists. They include all previously exempted facilities, such as, for example, terminals and ports, freight depots, marshalling yards and storage sidings. The European Directives that these Regulations are based on presume open access (though there are some minor exclusions). The Department for Transport has published guidance that explains the scope of these regulations. Under the regulations, if applicants to a facility or service feel aggrieved, they can appeal to ORR. ORR has produced guidance to the appeal process and its interpretation of viable alternatives.

The consumption of railway network capacity is regulated through the regime for approving access contracts, similarly established by the Act and provided for under the Regulations.

All current licences and licence exemptions can be viewed or downloaded as PDF files from the Public Register section of this site. Copies of licences and licence exemptions granted in the past are available in hard copy from the ORR Public Register. Copies of approved access agreements are available online, and also in hard copy from the ORR library. These copies are redacted to remove commercially sensitive information.