Rail franchises operators & contracts

Franchising: Time for change?

26.06.18: The recent timetabling chaos up and down the country has underlined that the current rail franchising model is broken – and passengers are paying the price, argues Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee. The recen...

East Coast back in public hands under same leadership and staff

25.06.18: The East Coast franchise has been officially handed back to public control as the first branded London North Eastern Railway (LNER) train departed from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh today. The inaugural journey marks the formal ter...

New GTR boss named to lead company through ‘difficult times’

21.06.18: Struggling rail firm Govia Thameslink Railway has named Patrick Verwer as its new chief executive. Following former chief executive Charles Horton’s resignation last week, the Go-Ahead group said the they “have full confidence&r...

Rail companies launch plan to deliver £9.2bn economic benefit to south east

20.06.18: Rail companies have come together to launch a long-term plan for the railway in south east London and Kent. The region’s rail companies, suppliers and local authorities have teamed up to launch ‘In partnership for Britain’s pr...

Anger as Northern Rail routes ‘not really valued’ by ministers and DfT

20.06.18: Department for Transport officials and ministers were warned about Northern Rail chaos two years ago, but saw some key routes as “not really valued,” a north west MP has shockingly announced. Wigan MP Lisa Nandy said she had bee...

TOC bosses appear before MPs, blame chaos on infrastructure failures

19.06.18: Bosses from Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Northern Rail cited failures in infrastructure being completed in time and last-minute changes to timetables as reasons for a chaotic bedding in of new timetables that led to delays and cancell...

Labour to launch no confidence challenge against Grayling

19.06.18: The transport secretary is under fire in parliament today as Labour looks to draft a motion of no confidence in the Commons. The party is using one of its opposition days — one of the 20 days in a parliamentary year where the opposing...

GTR boss to resign, citing 'huge frustration' from passengers

15.06.18: The chief executive of struggling operator Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) will resign. Charles Horton, the boss of GTR which runs Thameslink, Great Northern, and Southern railways, will remain in the position for a short time to oversee the...

Renewed West Midlands partnership to work towards 100 targets, from ticketing to stations

13.06.18: The Swift smart card is to be rolled out across the West Midlands through the renewal of a partnership first set up six years ago. Chiltern Railways, West Midlands Rail (WMR) and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) have renewed their partnership...

GTR’s PRM policy remains unchanged, it tells ORR

11.06.18: Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has denied making changes to the way in which it assists passengers with reduced mobility (PRM). Following the publication of its document, ‘Pit stop: Key principles for managing station dwell times,’...

DfT publishes ITT for East Midlands franchise bidders

08.06.18: Bidders for the next East Midlands franchise are being urged to demonstrate how they will deliver on an “ambitious” upgrade programme as the DfT published the invitation to tender (ITT). The current franchise has been operated b...

Consultation launched for next CrossCountry franchise

08.06.18: The DfT has kicked off a public consultation to seek views on various aspects of the next CrossCountry franchise to inform what the department will ask from potential operators when the franchise is renewed next year. T...

Greater Anglia speeds up delay repay compensation

06.06.18: Greater Anglia has updated its compensation process to make it faster to make a claim after listening to customer feedback. Rail passengers in the region told the train operating company that its online Delay Repay claim form, which is used to...

Network Rail chair says ‘maybe he should’ resign over rail crisis

05.06.18: The chair of Network Rail has said maybe he should resign over mounting pressure from MPs and the public after chaos caused by unprecedented delays and cancellations on the nation’s railways. Sir Peter Hendy has said his company was &...

KeolisAmey unveils £1.9bn Wales and Borders upgrade plans

04.06.18: KeolisAmey has unveiled its plans for a £1.9bn investment in the Wales and Borders rail network and the South Wales Metro in partnership with Transport for Wales (TfW). The announcement comes as the Welsh Government confirmed that KeolisA...