Office of Rail & Road
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| Non-ministerial government department overview | |
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| Formed | 5 July 2004 |
| Preceding Non-ministerial government department |
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| Jurisdiction | Great Britain |
| Headquarters | 1 Kemble Street, London, WC2B 4AN |
| Employees | 280 |
| Annual budget | £30 million |
| Non-ministerial government department executives |
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| Website | www |
The ORR is responsible for ensuring that railway operators in Britain comply with health and safety law. The ORR regulates Network Rail’s activities and funding requirements, regulates access to the railway network, licenses the operators of railway assets and publishes rail statistics. The ORR is the competition authority for the railways and they enforce consumer protection law in relation to the railway.
The ORR is also responsible for monitoring Highways England's management of the strategic road network – the motorways and main 'A' roads in England.
As a non-ministerial government department it is operationally independent of central government.
The ORR's main functions are:
The ORR regulates health and safety for the entire mainline rail network in Britain, as well as London Underground, light rail, trams and the heritage sector. It is the ORR's responsibility to ensure that those responsible make Britain's railways safe for passengers and provide a safe place for staff to work.
The ORR has a team of more than 100 rail health and safety inspectors and professionals who are respected across the network and have significant powers of enforcement. Their remit is to ensure that the railway is safe, and is kept safe, at a reasonably practicable cost.
The UK is amongst the safest railways in Europe. Fewer passengers are currently killed or seriously injured on our railway than at any time in recent decades. Safety of the workforce and of members of the public interacting with the railway is also important. And while safety is improving in most areas, there is still room for improvement.
The ORR regulates Network Rail, holding it to account for delivering high levels of performance and service, as well as good value for money – for passengers, the freight industry and taxpayers.
The ORR regulates the High Speed 1 line between St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel. This line is operated by HS1 Ltd, and is separate to the rest of the national railway network operated by Network Rail, but the ORR regulates it in much the same way. This includes holding HS1 to account for its performance, service and value for money for passengers and the freight industry.
A primary role for the ORR is to enforce consumer law and compliance with the conditions contained in Network Rail’s and train operators’ licences, to help ensure that all rail users get the service to which they are entitled.
The ORR aims to regulate such as to balance the interests of investors, customers, taxpayers and the industry. Although the ORR does not regulate fares, ensuring that passengers get a safe, high-performing service is extremely important.
The ORR is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the performance and efficiency of Highways England (which was previously the Highways Agency) and is delivering this through its Highways function.
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