ORR declines Blackpool and Shrewsbury paths

This from the ORR...

ORR decision on West Coast track access application

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has decided at this stage not to grant access for additional services to Blackpool and Shrewsbury on the West Coast Main Line (WCML).

Extensive analysis of Virgin Trains' recent application for new passenger services on the WCML showed that there is not currently sufficient space on the line to run all of the additional services. The proposals would have also caused further deterioration in punctuality by adding traffic to what is already a very busy route, on which Network Rail is currently not meeting the punctuality targets it has been funded to deliver. The proposals would have a detrimental impact on the journeys of millions of passengers travelling on the route.

Note. This announcement has been made in advance of the adjudication of the Access Disputes Committee, which was due to give its view on Friday...

UPDATE: This from Messrs Dot & Tittle...

Presumably NR will, under the terms of the Access and Management Regs 2005, now have to declare the West Coast to be congested infrastructure

23.—(1) Where, after the co-ordination of requests for capacity and consultation with the applicants in accordance with regulation 20(4), it is not possible for the infrastructure manager to satisfy requests for infrastructure adequately, the infrastructure manager must declare that element of the infrastructure on which such requests cannot be satisfied to be congested.

This then triggers a series of actions, including,

(3) In seeking to determine measures to alleviate congestion the infrastructure manager must consider, in particular—
(a) re-routing of services;
(b) re-timing of services;
(c) alterations to the line-speed; and
(d) infrastructure improvements.

Sadly there doesn’t appear to be a clause in the Regs which allows them to do nothing for 13 years in the hopeful expectation that HS2 will solve everything!

Bring on PUG3!

ORR makes overnight saving on access dispute process!

Good news for fans of Independent Economic Regulation!

This charming picture appeared in Thursday's Blackpool Gazette...

And it was accompanied by the following illuminating quotes from the ORR's very own Right Price....

“This petition will form part of the evidence in the process. I’d like to thank the readers of the Blackpool Gazette for their contribution to the On Track To The Capital campaign. This petition clearly shows how important the issue is to the people of Blackpool.

“ORR is currently considering the application from Virgin Trains for new services on the West Coast Main Line between Blackpool and London, this will include looking at the benefits new services may bring to passengers and whether they make best use of the limited capacity on the route.”

Fascinating.

Well done to the ORR for being quite so ahead of the game.

In fact so far ahead of the game, that it rather appears that the ORR's Chief Exec has forgotten that this dispute between Network Rail and Virgin over Blackpool and Shrewsbury paths is now subject to adjudication by the Access Disputes Committee.

As any fule kno the Access Dispute Committee "is responsible for the operation of the dispute resolution procedures that form part of all Access Agreements on the national network of Great Britain.". Of course if the ADC is unable to effect a resolution then the ORR may get involved.

No matter and Eye is sure that Professor Richard Butler, chairman of the ADC, will be generous in overlooking this apparent ORR parking of tanks on his lawn...

After all, who can resist getting their picture in the paper with so many MPs?