The UK Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has announced that HS1 Ltd is to reduce its charges for both passenger and freight operators using the high-speed line between London and the Channel Tunnel from April 2025.
The regulator’s decision, published in its Final Determination on HS1 Ltd’s spending plans for the next five years, states that overall tariffs should be reduced by 3.8% (£5 million per year) compared to the company’s latest plans.
HS1 Ltd will thus have to reduce its charges for the renewal of track assets and stations, including St Pancras, as well as for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of the railway.
Feras Alshaker, ORR’s director of planning and performance, stressed that this comprehensive and independent review will result in significantly lower costs for train operators from April 2025, which should benefit all users of the railway.
Apart from the Eurostar linking London to mainland Europe, the HS1 line is used by cross-channel freight trains and Southeastern trains between London, Dover, Ramsgate and Margate.
