LONDON: The Office of Rail and Road announced today that it is directing HS1 Ltd to lower its charges for passenger and freight train operating companies to use the high speed rail line from London to the Channel Tunnel, from April 2025.
The regulator’s decision, published in its Final Determination of HS1 Ltd’s spending plans for the next five years, follows a thorough review of the company’s proposals, which had already proposed some reductions in costs relative to today.
The regulator has determined that overall charges should come down by 3.8% (£5m per year) compared to HS1 Ltd’s latest plans, which were published in November as a response to the regulator’s Draft Determination in September. As part of this, the company is being directed to reduce its charges for renewing its track assets and its stations, including St Pancras. It must also reduce its charges for its day-to-day operating and maintenance of the railway.
ORR was able to identify specific areas in the company’s spending plans where further improvements can be made, resulting in savings to passenger and freight train operators. ORR’s view is that better management of the track and station assets can result in lower charges, ultimately benefiting customers.
In its response to the Draft Determination, HS1 Ltd disagreed with the amount of ORR’s proposed reductions in charges. The regulator took additional evidence from HS1 Ltd and other stakeholders into account, but ultimately determined that the company’s spending plans did not meet its duties for efficient spending.
Feras Alshaker, director, planning and performance, said: “Our thorough, independent review of HS1 Ltd’s spending plans has resulted in significantly lower costs for passenger and freight train operators using the high speed line from April 2025. Although, overall, HS1’s original plans were good, the company must now change specific areas of those plans to account for our decisions, which should benefit everyone who uses this railway.”