The Network Rail (Old Oak Common Great Western Mainline Track Access) Order 2026 was made on 3 June 2026 and comes into force on 24 June 2026. Using powers in sections 1 and 5 of the Transport and Works Act 1992, the Secretary of State has given Network Rail a defined set of land and access powers for works linked to Old Oak Common. The instrument records that the application went through the Transport and Works Act process, including a public inquiry under section 11 of the 1992 Act. After considering remaining objections, the inquiry report and later representations under section 13, the Secretary of State decided to make the Order with modifications described as not making any substantial change to the proposals.
The Order is tightly drawn. It is not a general station development consent for Old Oak Common. Instead, it authorises the use of land within the order limits as a temporary construction compound, including a temporary ramp, to support a temporary road rail vehicle access onto the Great Western Mainline so that the high speed and conventional stations at Old Oak Common can be delivered. It also supports a permanent road rail vehicle access point from the southern side of the Great Western Mainline for maintenance purposes. The Order defines associated development widely enough to cover incidental or ancillary works, including land outside the order limits where those works are otherwise permitted under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 or the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017.
On compulsory purchase, the most important point is that Network Rail is authorised to acquire a new right of access over the land listed in Schedule 1, rather than a broader estate in the land, where that right is required for the stated purpose. The Order applies the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 and the Compulsory Purchase (Vesting Declarations) Act 1981 with project-specific modifications, including five-year time limits for serving a notice to treat or executing a general vesting declaration. That matters because the legal machinery is tailored to the acquisition of rights rather than outright purchase. Schedule 3 adjusts the compensation code so that valuation and procedure reflect the creation of a new access right, while still preserving tribunal oversight where the effect on affected land is more serious.
The text also deals with the risk of later obstruction. If racking, a building or another fixed object was put on the relevant Schedule 1 land after 13 January 2026 and, in Network Rail's reasonable opinion, it prevents the access right from being used for the authorised purpose, Network Rail may require it to be removed and may remove it itself if the owner does not do so. A similar approach applies to land taken temporarily under Schedule 2. Network Rail may remove vegetation, fixed objects added after 13 January 2026 and moveable items that, in its reasonable opinion, would prevent the authorised temporary use.
The temporary possession powers are broad but time-limited. Network Rail may enter and take possession of the land listed in Schedule 2 for the purposes stated there, including use as a construction compound. At least 14 days' notice of intended entry must be served on owners and occupiers. The power to take temporary possession must be used within one year of 24 June 2026, subject to any extension caused by a High Court challenge under the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. If possession has been taken within that period, Network Rail may remain on the land beyond it, but not after 31 January 2030 unless the owners agree. Temporary possession does not itself require Network Rail to acquire the land or any interest in it.
The restoration and compensation duties are equally important. Before giving up possession, Network Rail must remove temporary works and restore the land within the order limits to the reasonable satisfaction of the owner. The Order adds a site-specific duty to restore the boundary fence on the northern boundary of plot 3, but it does not require the reinstatement of racking, buildings or other fixed objects placed on the land after 13 January 2026. Owners and occupiers are entitled to compensation for loss or damage arising from temporary possession, with disputes to be determined as if under Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1961. The Order also states that compensation cannot be recovered twice for the same matter under different legal routes.
A specific local safeguard is written into the instrument. Network Rail must not use its temporary possession powers in a way that prevents residents from accessing the garages to the rear of Acton House, 253 Horn Lane, London W3 9EJ. The same address is protected in the provisions on private rights of way, which preserve residents' access even where other private rights are extinguished or suspended because they would conflict with the authorised access rights or temporary occupation. Elsewhere, the Order follows the usual approach for this type of measure. Private rights of way may be extinguished or suspended to the extent that they are inconsistent with the authorised rights, and compensation is payable for loss. Statutory undertakers, however, keep their rights to maintain apparatus.
For affected owners, one of the strongest procedural protections sits in the modified counter-notice process. Where Network Rail seeks only a right over the whole or part of a house, building or factory, the owner may serve a counter-notice within 28 days requiring a wider purchase, and Network Rail must then decide within three months whether to withdraw, accept or refer the matter to the Upper Tribunal. The Upper Tribunal must decide whether the acquisition of the right would cause material detriment to the property, or seriously affect the amenity or convenience of a house where a park or garden is involved. If the Upper Tribunal decides that some or all of the land ought to be taken, the compulsory purchase order and notice to treat operate as if that interest had been included from the outset. Network Rail may still withdraw the notice to treat within six weeks of that determination, but it must then pay compensation for loss or expense caused by issuing and withdrawing the notice.
The Order also contains a clear anti-abuse rule on valuation. In assessing compensation for acquired interests, the Lands Chamber must disregard interests created, or buildings, works, improvements or alterations carried out, where they were not reasonably necessary and were done with a view to obtaining compensation or increasing it. That is aimed at preventing last-minute steps designed to raise claims. On procedure, notices may be served by post or electronically where the recipient has agreed, and that consent may later be withdrawn. A paper copy must be supplied if requested within seven days. Most other differences under the Order, unless separately provided for, go to a single arbitrator agreed by the parties or appointed by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. The legislation states that certified copies of the land plan and book of reference are to be lodged with the Secretary of State and may be used as evidence, while the Explanatory Note says copies can be inspected at Network Rail's National Records Centre in York. Taken together, the Order gives Network Rail a narrow but workable legal route for Old Oak Common-related access works, while keeping notice duties, compensation rights and tribunal routes in place for those directly affected.