29.09.16
DfT confirms CrossCountry franchise extension for Arriva
Arriva has promised an extensive programme of improvements on the CrossCountry franchise, as the government formally announced today that it has extended the contract until October 2019.
The extension was expected, and was listed as 'anticipated' on franchise charts issued by the DfT.
As part of the deal, the operator has been set “tough” targets for punctuality and reliability on CrossCountry services, with journey times between Manchester-Birmingham to be cut by nine minutes on weekdays and 12 minutes on weekends.
In addition, the company, which originally won the CrossCountry franchise in 2007, will introduce 39,000 more peak time seats on the Edinburgh to Plymouth route through Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol by December 2017. There will also be new station calls at Morpeth, supporting peak journeys to Scotland, Yorkshire and the Midlands.
The government will receive a premium of £163m from Arriva to operate the extended franchise. The DfT also stated that there would be a ‘£20m government investment in more modern trains’, but no further details were provided. Arriva said this would be used to further modernise CrossCountry’s HST fleet, including powered doors.
Chris Burchell, managing director of Arriva UK Trains said: “Under Arriva, the CrossCountry franchise has made significant progress for customers since 2007 so we are delighted to have the opportunity to operate the franchise for a further three years.
“Over the past nine years our investment programme has focussed on taking the CrossCountry franchise to a new level, enjoying national recognition for our innovation and customer service.
“We have introduced new timetables, extra station calls, refurbished carriages, re-introduced the fleet of High Speed Trains and, using new technology, delivered one of the industry’s most forward-thinking e-ticketing and on-board reservation solutions, helping to ensure customers have faster and easier access to great value fares.”
In addition, Arriva said it will introduce free wi-fi by April 2018, along with 4G download speeds. The company will also invest £340,000 in community rail partnerships on the CrossCountry network per year.
Arriva also promised a number of customer service improvements, including 24/7 customer services, a new mobile app to buy tickets and check live running times, and waiving the £10 ‘change of travel’ fee for advance tickets from January 2017.
Paul Maynard, the rail minister, said: “The franchise, which spans parts of England, Scotland and Wales, serves both commuters and long distance passengers and these benefits from Arriva CrossCountry will deliver extra and smoother journeys for customers using these services.”
Separately, the Department for Transport announced that it has now awarded a ‘Pre-qualification questionnaire passport’ to Metroline, a consortium owned by ComfortDelGro, meaning it is eligible to express an interest in rail franchises until 2019.
(Image c. EDDIE from Flickr)
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