Britain's ORR reports improved cancellation rates for Network Rail 2025-26

Britain's Office of Rail and Road (ORR) published its annual assessments of Network Rail for 2025-26 on 14 July 2026. The yearly reviews examine the infrastructure manager's operational efficiency and financial delivery across its regional divisions, alongside an overall Great Britain assessment and an annual efficiency and finance assessment covering the same financial year.

In the North West & Central region, passenger service cancellations fell from 5.1% at the close of 2024-25 to 3.8% by the end of 2025-26. The ORR attributes the improvement primarily to lower cancellations by train operating companies rather than to Network Rail's own operations: the figures represent the region's overall passenger cancellation score, with Network Rail-attributable cancellations forming a smaller subset the regulator tracks separately. Freight cancellations in the region ended the year at 1.1%, slightly worse than the 1.0% target. Nationally, overall cancellations had reached a record 4.1% in 2024-25, likewise driven mainly by train operating companies.

The regulator also flags a growing trend in cancellations from fixed infrastructure, which it has asked Network Rail to address with dedicated plans against the backdrop of a reduced renewals programme.

ORR's evaluation of the Wales & Western region identified advances in both punctuality and operational reliability, in a region that has faced asset reliability challenges and has not consistently met all of its targets.

Network Rail manages Britain's rail infrastructure — track, signalling, bridges and stations — and the annual reviews cover operational data from all its regions across Great Britain.