New trains deal delayed by West Coast collapse
A DEAL to run train services between Plymouth and London could be delayed by two years in the wake of the West Coast Main Line debacle it has been warned.
Amid the uncertainty sparked by the Whitehall franchise fiasco, campaigners argue "all bets are off" on the timing of the new contract for the Great Western route, which is due to start next year.
It comes as rail operator Virgin has been asked to continue running the troubled West Coast line on a temporary basis following the embarrassing U-turn by the Department for Transport.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin was forced to pull the plug on the controversial West Coast deal earlier this month when "significant technical flaws" were found in the way the franchise process had been conducted.
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In addition to launching a probe into what went wrong with the contract, there will be a review of the wider rail franchise programme.
This will mean putting on ice bidding for the new 15-year Great Western contract which is due to start next year.
The review is not due to report back until the end of December. But bids for the Great Western contract had been expected to be received this month with a new operator announced in March 2013.
The already delayed franchise was due to start in July, 2013.
But Chris Irwin, chairman of TravelWatch SouthWest, predicts it faces a long delay, impacting on future investment.
He said: "All bets on timing are off. It could be two years rather than July 2013. There's no certainty."
Virgin has run the West Coast line since 1997 but in August the DfT announced that a new 13-year franchise for the London to Scotland line had been awarded not to Virgin but to rival transport company FirstGroup.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson launched a legal challenge to the decision, describing the bidding process as 'insane'.
It was while getting itself ready to fight the legal challenge that the DfT discovered the flaws in the bidding.
FirstGroup said: "We believe the private sector provides the most effective and efficient way to deliver passenger rail services in the UK.
"We await the outcome of the independent investigations into the West Coast franchise competition and the wider rail franchising process, which we hope will provide a greater degree of certainty and confidence not only to future bidders but to employees, stakeholders and the travelling public too."
Labour MP for Plymouth Moor View Alison Seabeck said: "This isn't good for business confidence, therefore potential inward investment.
"We are making a fantastic case for Plymouth. Arguing for people to come to Plymouth we need to be clear as to what we are offering as to the transport potential."
Comments
by kevinretallic
Friday, October 19 2012, 11:18AM
“Lets all take stock, privitisation is all about money/profit.......where does customer satisfaction come into the equastion?”
by hstmtu4000
Friday, October 19 2012, 9:23AM
“As the old saying goes timplymouth "Theres nowt so blind as those who dont want to see"”
by timplymouth
Thursday, October 18 2012, 4:18PM
“I'm afraid the article you keep posting offers no analysis but mere conjecture. Anyone that starts blaming "fat cats" loses all credibility instantly.”
by hstmtu4000
Thursday, October 18 2012, 12:29PM
“The ROSCOS were originally create at privatisation when BRs Locomotive and rolling stock was sold off to the private sector at knocked down bargain basement prices.Within a short time those ROSCOs were sold on making vast profits for the banks.
As for the trains themselves I well remember the "Crosscountry" Voyager train fleet when introduced was far from perfect needing many modifications ie the roof mounted braking resistors "shorted" out at Dawlish because of sea spray causing the onboard computer to shut down the trains traction equipment as well as also suffering from noisy many rattles and vibrations.
Regards increased passenger numbers well as Railway research expert Professor Rod Smith puts it in the following link "The success story in the equation is that usage has also gone up. The operators would claim that more people are using the railways because of the splendidness of the service. But anyone with an iota of common sense would realise that's not the case – in fact, it's a ludicrous suggestion. Usage has gone up because of dissatisfaction with other modes of transport.
http://tinyurl.com/3aql7h9
As the professor put it "It's more than 15 years since the privatisation of the railways and it's clear that there are two basic planks of that process that haven't worked out as expected. Privatisation was supposed to free the railways from government control. And it was supposed to free the railways from the financial grasp of the Treasury. Neither of those two crucial tenets of privatisation has been achieved.".End off”
by pogle063
Thursday, October 18 2012, 10:16AM
“Yet another good reason NOT TO VISIT this backwater City. It just keeps getting better.”
by timplymouth
Thursday, October 18 2012, 9:32AM
“I don't have anything to do with the ROSCOs but it is a good system. A huge number of new trains have been built at zero cost to the tax payer. There have been no costly over runs on new prototype trains that then get cancelled. The companies put out tenders and then select the train that fits their requirements the closest.
I'm not a fan of the franchise system (although the national audit office have said it provides good value for money). I would prefer an open access system where any operator could bid to operate a train on any route. You would have true competition between operators and they could set any ticket price they wanted but would be obliged to accept the 'standard open' fare. Routes which no-one wants to operate would be bid for in a reverse auction. Whoever was willing to operate the route at the lowest subsidy would win.
It may be true that the total subsidy for the railways is higher than in the British Rail days but as a percentage of revenue it's about the same. One thing you can't deny is that since privatisation passenger numbers have soared.”
by hstmtu4000
Thursday, October 18 2012, 1:44AM
“timplymouth you almost sound like one of those who work for one of the ROSCOs,originally set up by the John Major Government who disasterously privatised the railways in the first place leaving generations of taxpayers saddled with huge rail debts we can ill afford especially now in these austere times.
The real question that many are now asking is not can we afford a nationalized railway but can we afford a privatised railway?”
by timplymouth
Wednesday, October 17 2012, 9:39AM
“It would cost £10,000,000,000 to nationalise the ROSCOs. It wouldn't gain you anything either.”
by b_mused
Tuesday, October 16 2012, 10:28PM
“Yes - A dreadful privatisation so re-nationalise the railways followed by gas, electricity and water.”
by PLYMFOX01
Tuesday, October 16 2012, 10:10PM
“Maybe its time to let all the remaining franchises run their course and then not renew them. There is far more public money pumped into the railways now in real terms than there ever was in BR days. The government has full control on timetables and fares now, plus what type and how many trains each company has so the railways are private in name only. What other private company is controlled by the government? None. Lets renationalise now as the only people who gain now are the shareholders who reap huge benefits.”