The Department for Transport (DfT) has written to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), stressing the critical importance of considering the cumulative financial impacts of new Open Access rail service applications, particularly in the context of the forthcoming Great British Railways (GBR).
In a letter dated 20 June 2025, Richard Goodman, Director-General for Rail Reform & Strategy at the DfT, reiterated the Department’s stance on Open Access, emphasising that while it has a place in the future railway, it “must deliver benefits without undue cost to taxpayers or existing passengers.” He stated that Open Access services “must genuinely add value and not simply divert revenue from existing operators – all of which are currently supported by the taxpayer in some form or inhibit the efficient operation of the network.”
The letter highlights heightened interest in Open Access applications as owning groups increasingly focus on them to maintain a presence and grow profits within the future publicly owned railway. The DfT has expressed “detailed views and specific concerns” regarding individual applications, particularly for the West Coast Main Line (WCML) and East Coast Main Line (ECML). These concerns primarily revolve around “abstraction/financial impacts, capacity and performance, and detrimental passenger experience.”
A key point of contention for the DfT is the ORR’s historical approach to assessing abstraction, which has largely focused on individual applications in isolation. Goodman argues that this overlooks “the true scale of abstraction due to Open Access and the significant impact it has on the Secretary of State’s funds and ability to deliver enhancements that would benefit passengers across the network more broadly.” DfT analysis suggests that the sum of annual abstraction from currently live Open Access applications could be up to £229 million (24/25 prices), not accounting for revenue impacts from service interactions.
Goodman stated: “We therefore believe it is critical that the ORR immediately takes steps to fully understand and consider the cumulative scale and impacts of abstraction when it assesses Open Access applications.” He requested that this consideration of cumulative impacts be “enacted immediately and factored into all future decision-making.”
The letter also flagged concerns over potential conflicts of interest, where Open Access operators might be in direct competition with contracted services run by the same owning group. The DfT is “concerned that such applications risk poorer overall experience for passengers and further reduced value for taxpayers, and would potentially be contrary to ORR’s duty to consider the interests – and specifically value for money – for users and providers or railway services.”
Finally, the DfT stressed the importance of acknowledging the impact of ongoing reforms. When fully operational, GBR, as the “directing mind,” will have the ability to “specify and coordinate services to maximise economic benefits, provide new links for under-served communities, and more broadly to develop the network’s passenger offer in a way that is not possible currently.” The DfT urged the ORR to ensure that current decisions “complement GBR’s role and future abilities rather than offering short-term benefits at the cost of significant long-term constraints.”
The Department for Transport has affirmed its readiness to work with the ORR to ensure impacts are fully assessed to aid decision-making.
For full details, the letter can be downloaded here.
