Office of Road and Rail Archives - International Railway Journal

Office of Road and Rail

November 7, 2025 | Policy

Great British Railways coming soon

Expanded role for regulator under new industry structure.

October 30, 2025 | Europe

Virgin wins London Channel Tunnel depot access

British rail regulator rejects applications from Evolyn, Gemini and Trenitalia.

July 3, 2025 | Main line

British open-access applications refused

Regulator says there is insufficient capacity on West Coast Main Line for new Lumo, Virgin and WSMR services.

April 4, 2025 | High-speed

Incentive scheme launched to grow cross-Channel high-speed

London St Pancras Highspeed to offer discount of up to 50% on access charges.

March 31, 2025 | High-speed

British regulator opens door to cross-Channel competition

ORR-commissioned report finds there is capacity for new entrants’ fleets at Eurostar’s London depot.

March 24, 2025 | High-speed

New entrant reveals cross-Channel high-speed plans

British company Gemini Trains joins Evolyn and Virgin in seeking to compete with Eurostar.

March 21, 2025 | Main line

Arriva seeks to expand British open-access operations

Grand Central service to Grimsby and Cleethorpes could start in December 2026.

January 24, 2025 | Policy

Keep Britain’s independent regulator, says FirstGroup

Operator says maintaining a strong ORR when creating Great British Railways is vital if open access and the wider railway are to grow.

January 10, 2025 | High-speed

ORR lowers HS1 access charges for 2025-2030

Operators will pay less to use high-speed line between London and the Channel Tunnel.

December 6, 2024 | High-speed

Depot access proves tricky for cross-Channel new entrants

Evolyn and Virgin have turned to Britain’s rail regulator as they seek access to the rolling stock maintenance facility in London that is owned by incumbent high-speed operator Eurostar. Robert Preston reports.

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