Report of the Rail Regulator [1999-2000] (ORR, 2000)

2000-07-27 More money, more activity and delivery, more accountability (Office of the Rail Regulator)(ORR/00/22)

_______________________________________________________________

date 10 August 2000
source Office of the Rail Regulator
type Press release

note ORR/00/27

The Regulator's first national survey of rail freight customers in the UK, commissioned by the Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR), has confirmed that although rail freight growth continues to outstrip that of road, there remains a large untapped market if only rail can remain competitive in price and can get its service quality right, in terms of reliability, flexibility and customer approach.

Commenting on the results of the survey, the Rail Regulator Tom Winsor said: "In my first weeks as Regulator, I challenged Railtrack on the adequacy of its approach to freight because growing rail freight is not just a desirable goal, it is something we positively must have. In commissioning this survey, I wanted freight users to tell me from their perspective and experience what the main barriers are to using rail. It is vital that we address those barriers so that rail can capture the growth called for in the Government's 10 Year Transport Plan."

The ORR survey included over 140 organisations including shippers, logistics companies, warehouse owners, and port and terminal operators. The intention is to benchmark the rail freight industry's performance by undertaking the same survey on an annual basis.

A copy of the National survey of rail freight users - Summary of results is available on this website or from the ORR Librarian, Sue McSwan, 1 Waterhouse Square, 138-142 Holborn, London EC1N 2TQ, tel: 020 7282 2001, fax: 020 7282 2045, e-mail: orr@dial.pipex.com.

PRESS ENQUIRIES:

ORR Press Office - 020 7282 2002/2007
Out of hours - pager 07659 127303

Railhub Archive ::: 2000-08-10 ORR-001