Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to ensure that (a) the Office of Rail and Road or (b) another independent body has powers to (i) oversee, (ii) intervene in and (iii) appeal decisions on (A) access, (B) contract duration and (C) pricing for freight operations.

The ORR will act as a robust and independent appeals body overseeing access and charging decisions made by GBR on the GBR network. The ORR will be able to consider appeals relating to all GBR’s decisions on access to and use of the network and its charging and performance schemes, ensuring fairness in GBR’s decision-making.

The ORR will have a range of remedies including the power to intervene and direct GBR to amend a decision or in certain circumstances, to substitute a decision with its own if necessary.