Rail franchises operators & contracts

CMA raises competition concerns over SW franchise award to First MTR

11.07.17: The government market regulator has today raised concern about the award of the South Western franchise to First MTR. In March, the franchise was awarded to the company, which is a joint venture between First Group and Hong Kong based firm...

Operators roll out on-the-day advanced tickets for passengers

05.07.17: Passengers who book tickets at short notice will soon benefit from cheaper fares, as the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) has announced that millions of advanced tickets will now be available up to 10 minutes before departure. Customers of Grand C...

‘Heroically ambitious’ priorities outlined for Wales and Borders franchise

30.06.17: The National Assembly for Wales Committee has today unveiled what the 10 priorities for the new Wales and Borders franchise should be for competing operators. In a report drawn up by the Assembly, potential operators were told that deliveri...

Stagecoach 80% profit dip linked to ‘onerous’ VTEC contract losses

28.06.17: Stagecoach Group has admitted to “disappointing” losses across its Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) operation, which forced the parent company to take out a £84m ‘exceptional pre-tax charge’ to reflect the “one...

Four bidders officially in the running for next South Eastern contract

22.06.17: The final shortlist of bidders for the South Eastern franchise has today been revealed by the DfT. Amongst the bidders are a wholly-owned subsidiary of Govia Ltd called London and South East Passenger Rail Services, as well as a subsidiary...

DfT reveals shortlist of three JVs for West Coast Partnership franchise

22.06.17: The shortlist of companies who will compete for the West Coast Partnership Franchise have today been announced by the DfT, and includes bids from three joint ventures: First Trenitalia West Coast Ltd, MTR West Coast Partnership Ltd and West Coas...

National complaints soar in 2016-17, as passengers voice 218% more grievances on GTR

15.06.17: Passenger complaints in 2016-17 shot up by 7.5% from the year before, as ongoing disputes on GTR services saw them receive 218% more complaints for poor services than in in 2015-16. In figures released by the ORR today, it was found that on...

GTR continues PPM improvement as First Hull still struggles

07.06.17: First Hull Trains has slipped to being the worst performing operator in Network Rail’s PPM statistics for period 2 2017-18, as GTR saw a marked improvement in performance from last year. It follows news last month that in period 1 201...

First publishes ‘encouraging’ results against backdrop of Croydon tragedy

01.06.17: FirstGroup has today published results that show a steady increase in its revenue over the past year, despite the negative effects of the Croydon tram accident. The company, who run a subsidiary that operates trams on behalf of TfL, saw rev...

Limited cash means EWR-style alliance models ‘have to work’

11.05.17: There is no doubt that delivering projects using deep alliances between contractors and suppliers, similar to what will be trialled with East West Rail, produces better results, rail bosses have resoundingly argued. Chris Curtis, head of Cr...

Time to move away from ‘famine or feast’ scenario for supply chain

09.05.17: The Industrial Strategy must enable a sustainable rail supply chain, avoiding the famine and feast scenarios of the past, according to a panel of experts at Railtex. Speaking on the first Platform session on productivity and skills, ho...

After over two years at the bottom, GTR no longer worst-performing TOC

09.05.17: After over two years of coming at the bottom of performance tables for operator punctuality, especially since its absorption of the entire TSGN franchise, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is finally in the clear. In the public performance mea...

Building passenger trust in the new South West franchise

08.05.17: David Sidebottom, passenger director at Transport Focus, discusses the importance of focusing on passenger wants and needs to build trust on the new South West franchise. When rail franchises come up for renewal, they provide an excellent o...

Franchising structure a barrier to sustained rail investment, report warns

03.05.17: The franchising system in its current state is becoming increasingly vulnerable to economic slowdown, a report released today has argued. Produced by Credo Business Consulting for a new transport think tank established by the Campaign for B...

London Assembly calls for DfT rethink on South Eastern devolution

27.04.17: The DfT have been told to “go back to the drawing board” and return to its 2016 plan of devolving some routes for the South Eastern franchise to TfL and the mayor of London. In a letter to the transport secretary, the chair of t...