ORR publishes action plan for safe AI adoption

On 29 May 2026, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) published its action plan to enable the safe, responsible and growth supporting use of artificial intelligence (AI). The ORR is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain’s railways and the independent monitor of National Highways in England. 

The ORR has engaged with the UK government, other regulators and the rail industry to understand and respond to the growing use of AI in rail. The publication occurs in context of the Department for Transport’s AI action plan published in June 2025 as well as GBRX’s recent publication titled “Artificial Intelligence in Rail: The Industry Action Plan”.

The ORR’s action plan sets out six actions to be completed over the course of 2026-2027:

1. Publish a Digital Safety Strategy and Strategic Risk Chapter on health and safety risks arising from the use of digital systems;
2. Update existing guidance on how legal duties apply to the development and deployment of digital technology, including AI;
3. Explore and report on how AI is being used across the interoperability authorisation process;
4. Use AI-enabled analytical tools to support ongoing monitoring and passenger-focused analysis, including in the areas of complaints, passenger assistance and related research datasets;
5. Work with data suppliers to understand the barriers to making data publicly available, identifying areas where anonymised or synthetic datasets may fill that gap; and
6. Report on how the use of innovative methods, potentially including regulatory sandboxes, could support AI in areas where different approaches to regulation could deliver benefits. 

The plan highlights that “ORR will seek to make the most of opportunities to use AI to support better outcomes for road users, rail passengers, freight users and taxpayers” whilst remaining consistent with its statutory duties and functions.[AK1] AI has the potential to unlock significant gains in safety, reliability and efficiency across the road and rail sectors. It is encouraging to see the ORR positioning itself to engage with AI-driven innovation as well as keeping in mind benefits for the wider public.

The plan is not intended to be static. The ORR intends to continue looking ahead to understand how developments in AI will affect both the sectors it regulates and the way in which it carries out its functions.

If you would like to discuss how current or future regulations impact what you do with AI, please contact Tom Whittaker, Brian Wong, Lucy Pegler, Martin Cook or any other member in our Technology team.  

This article was written by Anusha Kasture and Tom Whittaker.