Rail franchises operators & contracts

ScotRail to fund maintenance systems research project

20.05.13: Researchers will study ScotRail’s maintenance systems to boost efficiency and reliability through a two year Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). The £126,000 project, jointly funded by ScotRail and the UK Government, will see...

c2c contract extended until September 2014

17.05.13: The DfT has extended the Essex Thameside franchise, run by operator c2c, for an additional 16 months. The contract will now run until September 2014, with the potential for a further extension of up to eight months. It is the first contract...

Franchise Advisory Panel members unveiled

26.04.13: Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has named the remaining members of the Franchise Advisory Panel. Richard Brown, chairman of Eurostar and author of an in-depth report into franchising for the DfT, was appointed chair of the panel last...

Franchise extensions ‘not value for money’ – MPs

25.04.13: MPs have criticised the number of franchise contract extensions to be granted by the Government, and called for the DfT to reveal the cost of renegotiating so many at once. Following recommendations from the Brown review into franchising, t...

ScotRail passenger numbers continue to grow

11.04.13: Passenger numbers on ScotRail have grown for the ninth consecutive year, new figures show. 83.3 million passengers were carried by rail in the year ending 31 March 2013 – up 2.6% on last year’s figures. Steve Montgomery, ScotRai...

‘Kick out’ underperforming TOCs – Branson

09.04.13: Virgin Rail boss Sir Richard Branson has proposed that future franchises should include provisions to kick out under-performing train operators. He told the Guardian: “We have to be sure that the rules of engagement are different from...

London Midland extends ticket compensation offer

04.04.13: Ticket compensation for passengers on London Midland will be extended until April 30, the operator has announced. The move is part of a £7m compensation package, announced at the end of December. Commuters are offered five days f...

DOR should bid for East Coast franchise – MP

27.03.13: The public sector should be allowed to bid to run the East Coast contract, an MP on the Transport Select Committee has proposed. Manchester Withington Lib Dem MP John Leech has called for state-owned Directly Operated Railways (DOR), which...

Open access is ‘clear success’ – Lodge

27.03.13: The rail industry needs to increase competition and allow more open access operators to run services, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) think tank has proposed. Tony Lodge, a regulator contributor to RTM, has written a report for the free...

East Coast decision ‘defies all logic’, say unions

26.03.13: The industry has responded to the Government’s publication of its franchising programme, with unions and the Labour party criticising the decision to put the currently state-run East Coast services back out to tender by private companies.&...

Virgin Trains contract to be extended to 2017

26.03.13: The Government has published its franchising programme, which is now restarted following the cancellation and delay of many franchises last year.  Virgin Train’s contract to run services on the West Coast Main Line has been exten...

New mobile website for East Midlands Trains

21.03.13: East Midlands Trains has launched a new mobile website, where customers can buy tickets, check train times and plan journeys on the move. The website aims to improve passengers’ access to information and also includes departure and ar...

Train announcements ‘ruining journeys’ – Baker

14.03.13: Rail minister Norman Baker has accused operators of letting on-board announcements get out of control, saying they are becoming “more and more verbose” and that they “add nothing to the journey at all”. He said: &ldq...

East Coast Main Line services to stay state-run for years – FT

04.03.13: Directly Operated Railways has been told to draw up a five-year plan for its East Coast operations, suggesting that services on the East Coast Main Line could stay state-owned until after the next general election. The Financial Times repor...

Complexity and capability

28.02.13: Tim O’Toole, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, explains how the complexity of the rail industry can be its strength. Speaking at the DDRF’s annual conference 2013, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) Tim O’Toole...