Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance his Department has issued to the Office of Rail Regulation on supporting more competition between franchised rail operators and open access rail operators where capacity and appropriate conditions exist.

The Secretary of State issued statutory guidance to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in July 2012. Paragraph 24 provided guidance on access rights. A copy of the guidance is attached and can also be viewed on the GOV.UK website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3642/sos-guidance-to-orr.pdf

In August 2013 the Department responded to the ORR’s consultation, “Periodic Review 2013. On-rail competition: Consultation on options for change in open access”. A copy of the letter is also attached and it can be viewed on the ORR’s website at:

http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/3752/on-rail-competition-dft.pdf