The UK Office of Rail & Road on Monday said it has directed HS1 Ltd, the operator of the high-speed rail line connecting London to the Channel Tunnel, to reduce charges for passenger and freight train operators starting in April 2025.

The decision, outlined in ORR’s final determination of HS1’s spending plans for the next five years, calls for a 3.8% reduction in charges, amounting to approximately £5 million annually. The adjustments will target costs associated with track and station renewals, including St Pancras International, as well as day-to-day operations and maintenance.

The regulator’s review identified areas for improved efficiency in HS1’s spending plans, which were updated in November following ORR’s draft determination in September. Despite HS1 contesting the scale of the reductions, ORR concluded that the company’s proposed plans did not fully meet efficiency standards.

Feras Alshaker, ORR’s director of planning & performance, said: ‘Our thorough, independent review of HS1’s spending plans has resulted in significantly lower costs for passenger and freight train operators using the high speed line from April 2025.

‘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.’

In July, HS1 Ltd was acquired by a consortium comprising of funds advised and managed by InfraRed Capital Partners Ltd and Equitix Investment Management Ltd.

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