Statutory office - created by section 1 of the Railways Act 1993 - for the independent economic regulation of the British railway industry. The Railways Act, 1993 was the legislation introduced by John Majors Conservative government which led to the break-up of British Rail, the handover of train services to various private companies including Virgin, Connex and the coach companies Stagecoach and National Express, and the handover of the railway infrastructure...

Office abolished from July 4 2004 - using powers under the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 - when (in line with constitutional changes made to other economic regulatory authorities) the single-person regulator model was replaced by a nine-member corporate board called the Office of Rail Regulation. July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ... The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is the UK governments agency for regulation of the countrys railway network. ...

Under the Railways Act 2005, the Office of Rail Regulation was later given safety jurisdiction in addition to economic regulatory functions. The Railways Act 2005 was a railway act in the United Kingdom. ...

Regulators

The first Rail Regulator was John Swift QC, who held office from December 1 1993 until November 30 1998. Appointed by the Conservative Secretary of State for Transport, John MacGregor MP, Swift had little hope of being reappointed for a second five-year term by the new Labour party Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott MP. Prescott had announced - at the Labour Party conference in September 1998 - that he intended to have a 'spring clean of the regulators'. December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... John Macgregor (1802-1858) was a Scottish shipbuilder. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

Because Nolan rules on the making of public appointments take months, Prescott appointed Chris Bolt, Swift's chief economic adviser, as regulator on an interim basis from December 1 1998 on a seven-month contract, to allow him to go through the process for a full-term appointment. December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Prescott's choice for regulator was Tom Winsor, a lawyer and partner in a leading City of London law firm who had shown his impatience with the poor performance of Railtrack, the owner and operator of the national railway infrastructure. Winsor held office from July 5 1999 until July 4 2004, the most turbulent years of British railway history. Railtrack was a group of companies which owned the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and some stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002. ... July 5 is the 186th day of the year (187th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 179 days remaining. ... July 4 is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 180 days remaining. ...

Jurisdiction

The Rail Regulator was the most powerful player in the privatised British railway industry. His jurisdiction was wide - too wide for the liking of many politicians, including the first three Labour Secretaries of State for Transport - John Prescott MP, Stephen Byers MP and Alistair Darling MP - and the chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on Transport Gwyneth Dunwoody MP. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The Right Honourable Stephen John Byers (born April 13, 1953) is a British Labour Party politician and former cabinet minister. ... The Rt Hon. ... Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody (born in Fulham, London on 12 December 1930), is the longest-serving woman Member of the United Kingdom Parliament, having been the Labour Party MP for Exeter between 1966 and 1970, then MP for Crewe from February 1974 to 1983 then following boundary changes, for the Crewe...

That jurisdiction comprised:

• power to determine the financial framework of the railway industry, setting price controls for access to the national network of railway facilities (principally track and stations), through the power to determine the efficiency and activity levels necesary for the competent operation, maintenance, renewal and enhancement of the railway system

• determining the fair and efficient allocation of capacity of railway facilities, including ordering compulsory third party access, and setting standard terms for access contracts

• issue, modification, compliance monitoring and enforcement of operating licences for railway assets

• development of industry-wide codes (particularly the network code) dealing with timetable development, changes to rolling stock and the network itself, the handling of operational disruption, transfer of access rights, local accountability, information provision and environmental protection

• acting as competition authority for the railways under the Competition Act 1998

• acting as appellate body for certain regulatory and legal disputes, including in certain cases of the establishment, amendment and abolition of safety standards.

Independence

Although appointed by a government minister, the Rail Regulator was independent of government. This was because, to encourage and maintain private investment in the railway industry, it was essential that decisions by the regulator were taken on objective economic criteria, free of undue political influence or considerations.

The independence of the Rail Regulator was established by virtue of:

• the absence of any ability of the Secretary of State for Transport to give him directions or orders as to what he should or should not do

• the absence of any right of appeal to the Secretary of State for Transport in relation to the actions of the Rail Regulator

• the absence of the right of the Secretary of State for Transport to remove the Rail Regulator from office, except on grounds of incapacity or misbehaviour (the same grounds as apply to judges of the High Court).

In October 2001, the independence of the Rail Regulator was threatened when the Secretary of State for Transport - Stephen Byers - took steps which led to the placing of Railtrack into railway administration. Although successfully resisted, on July 15 2004 the government announced a legislative intention to restrict the jurisdiction of the Office of Rail Regulation. The legislation - the Railways Act 2005 - was passed in April of the following year. The Right Honourable Stephen John Byers (born April 13, 1953) is a British Labour Party politician and former cabinet minister. ... Railtrack was a group of companies which owned the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and some stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) is the UK governments agency for regulation of the countrys railway network. ... The Railways Act 2005 was a railway act in the United Kingdom. ...

During the final Parliamentary stages of the passage of the Railways Act 2005, the Government sustained a defeat in the House of Lords over an amendment which would have protected passenger and train operators against a diminution of infrastructure quality or performance - or being held rigidly to their contracts for the provision of railway services which assumed no such diminution - if the Secretary of State for Transport restricted funds available to Network Rail. However, the amendment was reversed the same day in the House of Commons with a much weaker provision substituted for it. The House of Lords did not insist on their original amendment, and the legislation was passed without the protections which the train operators needed. Criticis regarded this as an unjustified interference in an inter-dependent contractual matrix, contrary to the legitimate expectations of private investors in the railway. The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ... Network Rails logo Network Rail is a British not for dividend company limited by guarantee that owns the fixed assets of that part of the British railway system that formerly belonged to British Rail, the now-defunct UK state-owned railway operator. ...