The Rail Freight Group (RFG) has welcomed a decision by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to direct the infrastructure manager of the HS1, formerly Channel Tunnel Railway Link (CTRL) to publish information about operator costs on the railway.
The decision is part of a long running campaign by EWS Railway and RFG to enable freight to run on the CTRL at a reasonable, and transparent, pricing regime.
The decision calls for the publication of an up-to-date network statement that includes sufficient information to enable an operator to calculate how much it costs to operate services on the HS1 railway.
The RFG said that the decision confirms the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Bill put forward earlier this year by Lords Bradshaw and Berkeley, which said that the only sensible way of structuring the regulatory regime for the CTRL was to include it fully as part of the UK regulated railway.
RFG chairman Tony Berkeley said: "this decision, the ORR has set out the complexity of the current arrangements and listed the attempts by the Government and its wholly-owned infrastructure manager to fix access charges so as to maximise the sale price of the company, rather than to cover costs and encourage the growth of traffic, in line with EU policy for national rail infrastructure networks."
Berkeley said that the decision by the ORR will allow for the railway to be operated with maximum efficiency and with charges that the market can bear.
"The detailed information in the ORR decision about the complex structure set up by the DfT confirms our view that, in the process of sale, all regulatory responsibilities should be transferred to the ORR, including the setting of charges and cost ceilings, so that the line can be regulated effectively and in full compliance with the spirit and letter of EU and UK regulations," he added.
By Daniel Garrun
