ORR publish Complaints Code of Practice for train and station operators

Credit: ORR

The Office of Rail and Road has published the final version of a new Complaints Code of Practice (CoP) for train and station operators. The CoP sets out good practice principles – and core minimum requirements – that train and station operators must deliver through their complaints handling procedures.

The new CoP is designed to embed a culture where insights from complaints are used to drive continuous improvement, and to incentivise quality and timeliness in complaints handling, which are the key drivers of passenger satisfaction with the complaints handling process. The CoP contains new reporting requirements that will require train operators to publish information annually on how they have actively used and applied learning from complaints within their business.

“Our policy objective is to promote continuous improvements in passengers’ experience of rail, through train and station operators acting on the feedback from complaints,” Jacqui Russell, Head of Consumer Team for the ORR, said. “The new CoP should deliver on that, and we look forward to working with train operators on implementing these changes.”

ORR intends for the new CoP to come into effect from 1 April 2023, subject to the receipt of train and station operators’ consent to the changes, which it will seek via a statutory consultation on licence change.