The Department for Transport has announced that it intends to make further direct awards for three passenger rail contracts - East Coast, South Western and Essex Thameside - which suggests that a switch back to asking companies to bid competitively for operating contracts remains some way off.
All three have been direct awards since 2021, operated by LNER (a DfT subsidiary), South Western Railway (FirstGroup and MTR) and c2c (Trenitalia).
The new deals will last for 24-60 months for East Coast, and 36-96 months for SWR and Essex Thameside.
The current LNER contract has been under direct government control (OLR Holdings Limited, DOHL) since the termination of the loss-making Virgin Trains East Coast contract six years ago. It was the government’s stated intention then that any future deal would integrate it with the Great Northern network out of King’s Cross, but this is no longer mentioned. The present contract is due to run its course on June 22 2025.
There is no change to the specification, which is the core London-Edinburgh corridor with some services extended to Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness, plus Leeds (and Bradford, Skipton and Harrogate), Middlesbrough, Hull and Lincoln.
SWR’s agreement expires on May 25 2025, and again the DfT says it is not looking to change the way it is run.
The vast majority of its mix of commuter and regional services run out of Waterloo to Portsmouth, Southampton and Reading, and extend as far as Exeter and Weymouth. It also includes the Isle of Wight’s Island Line. The contract will run for no less than three years, and a maximum of eight.
The Essex Thameside contract held by c2c expires on July 20. It has trains running out of Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness, Southend via Ockenden, and to Grays.
This story appears in issue 1007 of RAIL. Get your copy delivered to your letterbox or inbox.
Comment as guest
Comments
No comments have been made yet.