The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has launched a consultation on new regulatory safeguards designed to ensure independent rail ticket retailers can compete fairly with Great British Railways (GBR) as the industry moves towards a more integrated publicly owned railway.
The proposed Retail Code of Practice would establish enforceable requirements governing how GBR operates within the online ticket retail market, addressing potential conflicts of interest arising from its dual role as both a major ticket seller and the organisation responsible for managing essential retail systems used by competitors.
Published on 9 October 2026, the consultation represents an important step in defining how competition and passenger choice will be protected under the future railway structure.
The proposals would require GBR to provide independent retailers with fair and transparent access to fares, ticketing products, industry systems and associated services, while preventing its own retail operations from receiving an unfair competitive advantage.
For the wider industry, the consultation raises significant questions about how a publicly owned railway organisation can manage essential shared infrastructure while competing commercially with businesses that depend on that infrastructure.
GBR’s dual role creates potential conflicts of interest
Under the government’s railway reform plans, GBR will take responsibility for operating most passenger rail services and determining the customer offer associated with those services.
It will also sell tickets through multiple channels, including online platforms, railway stations and onboard trains.
However, GBR’s responsibilities will extend beyond its own ticket sales.
The organisation will manage central retail functions that independent ticket retailers rely on to participate in the market, including industry IT systems, data processing arrangements and the issuing of third-party retailer licences.
This creates a potentially sensitive relationship in which GBR will both compete with independent retailers and control aspects of the infrastructure and processes those businesses need to operate.
ORR’s consultation seeks to address this through a formal regulatory framework designed to ensure that GBR does not use its position to disadvantage competing retailers.
The proposed Code is intended to preserve a fair and open online ticket market while allowing GBR to develop its own retail offering.
Fair access to fares, products and ticketing systems
A central requirement of the proposed Retail Code is that GBR must provide non-GBR online retailers with access to essential retail services on fair, transparent and non-discriminatory terms.
This would cover access to fares, ticketing products, systems and other services necessary for independent businesses to sell rail tickets.
The intention is to prevent GBR from using its control over shared retail infrastructure to favour its own online sales channels.
For independent ticket retailers, access to accurate fares information, reliable technology systems and consistent commercial arrangements is fundamental to competing effectively.
Any preferential treatment for GBR’s own retail operations could potentially affect the ability of other businesses to offer competitive services and maintain customer choice.
The proposed safeguards are therefore designed to establish clear expectations about how GBR must treat other market participants.
Protecting commercially sensitive information
The consultation also addresses the management of commercially sensitive information and potential conflicts of interest.
Because GBR will oversee central retail systems while operating its own ticket-selling business, it may have access to information relating to independent retailers and their commercial activities.
ORR’s proposed Code would establish expectations for protecting that information and ensuring it is not used in ways that could distort competition.
It would also require market-wide decisions to be made fairly and transparently.
These provisions are intended to provide greater confidence that decisions affecting the wider retail market will not be influenced by GBR’s commercial interests as a ticket retailer.
The challenge for GBR will be establishing governance arrangements that allow it to manage shared industry systems effectively while maintaining appropriate separation between its responsibilities to the market and its own retail operations.
Regulator to have enforcement powers
The proposed Retail Code would be incorporated into GBR’s operating licence, making compliance a formal regulatory obligation.
This would allow ORR to monitor how GBR meets the requirements and consider enforcement action where necessary.
The regulator has also confirmed that GBR will remain subject to competition law.
This means the organisation will be required to avoid practices that exclude competitors, distort competition or constitute an abuse of its market position.
Together, these arrangements are intended to provide safeguards beyond voluntary commitments or internal governance procedures.
By making the Code enforceable through GBR’s licence, ORR aims to ensure that independent retailers have confidence in the regulatory arrangements governing access to the online ticket market.
ORR seeks industry input before finalising rules
Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s Director of Strategy, Policy and Reform, said: “GBR will have an important role in shaping the future retail market, while also selling tickets itself. Our proposed Retail Code of Practice will provide enforceable safeguards to help maintain a fair and open online retail market, supporting passenger choice.
“We’ve already engaged with representative organisations and key stakeholders, and now we want to hear from everyone with an interest in the future online rail retail market. Their views will help us ensure the Retail Code of Practice is effective in supporting a fair and open market.”
ORR is encouraging independent retailers, passenger operators, consumer representatives and other interested organisations to participate in the consultation.
The regulator has already undertaken engagement with representative bodies and key stakeholders, but is seeking wider feedback before finalising the framework.
The consultation will remain open until 11 December 2026, with the final Retail Code expected to be published in spring 2027.
Balancing integration with competition
The proposed safeguards highlight one of the challenges associated with establishing GBR: combining railway operations and customer-facing services within a more integrated structure while maintaining opportunities for independent businesses to participate in the market.
The government’s reforms are intended to simplify railway management and create greater coordination between infrastructure, train operations and passenger services.
However, centralising responsibility for ticketing systems and retail functions also raises questions about market access, commercial independence and regulatory oversight.
For independent retailers, the effectiveness of the new Code will be particularly important in determining whether they can continue competing on equal terms as GBR develops its own digital retail services.
For passengers, the objective is to preserve choice and competition while ensuring the transition to a new railway structure does not create unnecessary barriers to alternative ticket-selling platforms.
The consultation also demonstrates the continuing role ORR is expected to play in overseeing market fairness as responsibilities within the railway change.
Important test for GBR’s future retail market
The development of the Retail Code comes as the industry prepares for significant changes to the way rail services are managed and sold.
While GBR will assume a central role in passenger operations and retail infrastructure, the regulator’s proposals make clear that this position must not automatically translate into preferential treatment for its own commercial activities.
The challenge will be designing arrangements that are sufficiently robust to prevent unfair competition without creating unnecessary complexity or limiting innovation in rail ticket retailing.
With the consultation open until December and final rules expected in spring 2027, the coming months will provide an opportunity for retailers, operators and passenger organisations to influence the regulatory framework.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of the Code will be measured by whether GBR can deliver a more integrated ticketing system while maintaining fair access, protecting commercially sensitive information and preserving meaningful choice for passengers.
