ORR consults on rail ticket selling rules for Great British Railways

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has opened a consultation on new rail ticket selling rules for Great British Railways (GBR). It proposes a Retail Code of Practice meant to keep the online ticket market fair once GBR is running most passenger services and selling tickets itself.

The consultation closes on 11 December 2026. ORR said responses will help shape the final code, which is expected in spring 2027.

What is changing and when

According to ORR, GBR will operate most passenger rail services, set the customer offer for them and sell tickets across digital channels, at stations and on board trains. In the online market it will also manage the retail functions that other ticket sellers rely on. ORR lists central industry IT systems, data processing and the issuing of third-party retailer licences among them.

ORR’s notes to editors say these management functions are currently carried out by the Rail Delivery Group and will move to GBR. They include commission arrangements and technical standards as well as the licensing of independent retailers.

The draft code would require GBR to give all non-GBR online retailers fair, transparent and non-discriminatory access to fares, products, systems and related services. It must do so without giving its own online retail business an undue advantage. The code also sets expectations on managing conflicts of interest, protecting commercially sensitive information and making market-wide decisions fairly and transparently.

GBR would be bound by the code through its licence. ORR said that would let it monitor compliance and, where necessary, consider formal enforcement action. GBR will also be subject to competition law, which means it must not exclude competitors, distort the online retail market or abuse its position.

Who is affected by the UK train ticket selling regulations

The most visible change for passengers is the end of separate operator sites. ORR says GBR’s future online retailer will replace the 14 websites and apps run by train operators contracted to the Department for Transport. Railnews reported the same figure.

Independent retailers, open access operators and devolved operators will continue to sell tickets as they do now. ORR uses the term non-GBR online retailers for all of these. Railnews adds that the devolved operators are in Scotland and Wales.

The table below sets out what ORR says changes and what stays the same.

The sources do not say when the single GBR retailer will launch, so passengers should not expect any change to how they buy tickets from this consultation alone.

What supporters and critics say

ORR’s case is that GBR will hold two roles at once. Stephanie Tobyn, ORR’s director of strategy, policy and reform, said: “GBR will have an important role in shaping the future retail market, while also selling tickets itself.”

She added that the proposed code “will provide enforceable safeguards to help maintain a fair and open online retail market, supporting passenger choice”. On the wider aim, she said: “Passengers should have confidence that the rail ticket market works fairly, whichever retailer they choose to buy tickets from.”

The published material does not include reaction from independent retailers, train operators or passenger groups, and neither ORR nor Railnews reports any objections so far. Tobyn said ORR has already engaged with representative organisations and key stakeholders. The consultation is the point at which any concerns, for example about how conflicts of interest or sensitive commercial data are handled, would be put on the record.

What to do now

ORR is encouraging independent retailers, rail operators, passenger and consumer groups and other interested organisations to respond. Tobyn said ORR wants to hear “from everyone with an interest in the future online rail retail market”. The consultation page and the draft Retail Code of Practice are both on the ORR website.

The window runs for nine weeks, from 9 October to 11 December 2026. A sensible approach is to read the draft code first, then focus on the areas ORR has highlighted. Those are access to fares, products and systems, the handling of conflicts of interest and commercially sensitive information, and how market-wide decisions are made.

After the deadline ORR will weigh the responses and publish the final code, expected in spring 2027. Once the code is in force, GBR’s compliance will be monitored through its licence. Passengers who simply buy tickets need do nothing now, but those with a stake in the market have until 11 December 2026 to be heard.