Rail regulator orders HS1 to slash spending on Eurostar route
The Office of Rail and Road has ordered HS1 to lower its spending from April 2025, after finding it did not meet its duties for efficient spending.
The 109km high-speed rail line was ordered to bring charges down by 3.8 per cent compared to its latest plans, saving passengers and freight trains as much as £5m a year.
“In its response to the draft determination, HS1 disagreed with the amount of ORR’s proposed reductions in charges,” the watchdog said this morning.
“The regulator took additional evidence from HS1 and other stakeholders into account, but ultimately determined that the company’s spending plans did not meet its duties for efficient spending.”
Connecting London through Kent to the Channel Tunnel, HS1 has four stations on its line: London St Pancras, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International.
The network is used by Southeastern services, as well as Eurostar passenger trains and freight trains.
In a review of HS1’s plans for costs between April 2025 and March 2030, the watchdog found a range of areas in its spending plans where improvements could be made.
Therefore, the regulator ordered the rail line to bring down charges for renewals down for £1.9m for the route, and £900,000 for stations, as well as cut £2.3m in charges for operations and maintenance.
The move will bring HS1’s total regulated income down by more than 10 per cent compared to what it had been spending previously.
“Our thorough, independent review of HS1 Ltd’s spending plans has resulted in significantly lower costs for passenger and freight train operators using the high speed line from April 2025,” said Feras Alshaker, director of planning and performance at the watchdog.
“Although, overall, HS1’s original plans were good, the company must now change specific areas of those plans to account for our decisions, which should benefit everyone who uses this railway.”
“We are pleased to see the ORR’s positive endorsement for our plan for the next five years and we now look forward to seeing how the lower cost to operators drives growth on HS1,” added Mattias Bjornfors, chief strategy and regulation officer at HS1.
“Our plan for 2025-2030 includes proposals to enhance efficiency and reduce the cost of operating the high-speed line, incorporating innovations like track deterioration modelling to better target renewal investments.”