Competition Commission report on rolling stock

[whole diary]

[welshman]

Apologies if someone else has posted this already.  Interesting I think.

[John R]

Seems to imply that it's the system which is at fault, not the actions of the ROSCOs^» (Rolling Stock Owning Company - about). No wonder there hasn't been a government announcement lambasting the ROSCOs following publication.  They've gone all quiet all of a sudden.

[The SprinterMeister]

Seems to imply that it's the system which is at fault, not the actions of the ROSCOs^» (Rolling Stock Owning Company - about). No wonder there hasn't been a government announcement lambasting the ROSCOs following publication.  They've gone all quiet all of a sudden.

Probably because the DFT^▸ (Department for Transport) has been specifying who can what rolling stock (particularly the MOLA rolling stock) in the Invitation to Tender for the franchises and leaving the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s to face the wrath when it all goes Pete Tong. Now the DFT have been found out.

[welshman]

As I read the documents to which it refers (and the full report comes tomorrow) it's saying that there is too little rolling stock leased by too few companies to TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) with franchises too short to encourage them to invest in new rolling stock.  It is also suggested that the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) (in England of course) is inadvertently stifling competition by telling everyone what they have to do.

It is certainly the case that ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC)) were refused permission to buy new trains when they tendered for the Welsh franchise.  They were told no new baked bean tins until 2018 when their franchise comes to an end.  Instead, the WAG^» (Welsh Assembly Government - about) subsidises the leasing of shagged out Pacers and Sprinters at silly cost.  Come 2013 all those Pacers will start breaking down with monotonous regularity and there'll be a catastrophic train shortage for FGW^▸ (First Great Western) and ATW.

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