FirstGroup win InterCity West Coast Franchise

[whole diary]

[SapperPsmith]

If Virgin win then how can HMG conduct any procurement in future without someone going for judicial review?  MoD equipment springs to mind.

[dking]

Take a look at this

http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2012/08/28/virgin-warns-first-running-west-coast-main-line-may-improve-services/


Edited to fix link. bignosemac

[Super Guard]

 

[Brucey]

Have Virgin revealed any details of the content of their bid?  I cannot recall seeing any offer of what they would do as franchise holder.

I also observed that Virgin Rail Limited is the company putting up the legal challenge, whereas West Coast Trains Ltd are the current franchise holder.  Should I read anything into this other than a new company has been set up to handle the new franchise?

[paul7575]

Should I read anything into this other than a new company has been set up to handle the new franchise?

I wouldn't worry.  Franchise renewal always involves a new company, even if the incumbent retains it, for example the current 'SWT^▸ (South West Trains)' is not legally the same company as the previous 'SWT'.  (I can't recall the subtle differnce in the underlying 'company name', but do remember it being slightly changed.)

Paul

[Btline]

I think it was South West to South Western.

Just like Great Western to Greater Western.

[vacman]

there is a pro-First epetition now by the looks of it http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37539 not as many signiatures as the other one though!

[EBrown]

It would be very interesting if First Group (GW^▸ (Great Western), FC^‡(resolve), TP, SR^‡(resolve), HT^▸ (Hull Trains)) advertised that petition like Virgin did on CIS^▸ (Customer Information System)', Twitter, Facebook and via email. I suspect it would surpass the number of signatures on the VT^▸ (Virgin Trains - former franchises) petition.

I think First Group, quite rightly won't; as such, it will not get that many signatures.

[Chris from Nailsea]

... for example the current 'SWT^▸ (South West Trains)' is not legally the same company as the previous 'SWT'.

Indeed: from Wikipedia:

The legal name of the company has also changed from South West Trains Ltd to Stagecoach South Western Trains Ltd, but the trading name has remained unchanged.

[woody]

there is a pro-First epetition now by the looks of it http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/37539 not as many signiatures as the other one though!

Those e-petition statistics in full

http://railwayeye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/those-e-petition-stats-in-full.html

[EBrown]

A few other "interesting" petitions...

Sign the West Coast rail franchise agreement with First Group immediately

In any further bids for rail franchises bar First and where they hold the franchise consider removing it from them

Stop First Group (Closed)

[Btline]

Virgin release details of their bid

New Services ^ our bid also proposes new direct services to Telford/Shrewsbury/Blackpool/Bolton but they would start a year earlier than FG. We would also double the frequency to Preston and increase calls to North Wales/Nuneaton/Milton Keynes and speed up journey times between Euston and Glasgow. In addition we would create new services to Stirling, Motherwell, Hartford, Liverpool South Parkway, and further enhance services for Gobowen/Chirk/Ruabon/Wrexham, increase journey opportunities between Milton Keynes/Rugby/Stafford to the North West and increase calls at Tamworth/Lichfield.

^ Trains ^ we would replace all of the Voyager trains with 21 6-car ^Baby Pendolinos^ which would mean no diesel operation over electrified lines, delivering the best environmental solution and an all Pendolino fleet providing the best passenger environment. FG appears to be retaining all of the Voyager fleet but it is not clear whether this is a firm commitment to do so or that they have the option to redeploy them to other routes. Assuming they do retain all of the Voyagers, FG would be providing 4% more seats than we would on a daily basis. The investment in fleet would be ^385m, but no contract is in place for FG.

^ On Board Service ^ we would replace the current WIFI system with a completely new state of the art system capable of growing with passenger needs, as enhancing the current system is not feasible. There would be a complete On Board refresh. All of this would support the enhanced at seat complimentary service in First Class and a new at seat service for Standard Class. The Virgin investment in the On Board service is ^109m, but there are no details as yet from FG.

^ Track ^ to deliver the improved journey times working with Network Rail we would undertake a number of infrastructure upgrades including enhancement to allow the Pendolino to reach a top speed of 135mph in order to improve a number of journey times. This Virgin investment would be ^125m, but there is no firm commitment in FG statements.

^ Stations ^ As with FG we would install ticket gates and undertake a number of station improvement projects. We would also create more car parking, install more ticket machines and introduce smart cards. CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) and information points would also be installed. The investment for stations totals ^99m. FG has said they will invest ^22m in this area.

^ Passenger Services ^ we will design and develop a revolutionary new Centralised Booking Engine (CBE) which is unique to the industry. It pulls together all of the many industry systems and provides the passenger with a one stop shop experience. As part of this we will introduce a new customer experience system which includes a loyalty scheme in partnership with a major scheme provider. The investment in this area is ^39m, but there is no detail in this area from FirstGroup
Including a number of other projects not listed above we are planning to invest nearly ^800m in the franchise. FG has said its investment package is worth ^350m but there is little detail of how or whether this is to be spent.

This sounds better...?

[Chris from Nailsea]

It comes straight out of the Virgin Trains Media Room - so you'd rather expect it to, wouldn't you? 

[Brucey]

Not at all unexpected, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

West Coast Main Line First Group deal put on hold

The deal to hand the West Coast Main Line rail franchise to First Group is to be delayed following a legal challenge by current operator Virgin.

Ministers were expected to sign the deal with First Group several days ago.

But they have confirmed due to the legal challenge the contract has not been signed and "the competition remains live".

Virgin has run the West Coast Main Line since 1997, but lost out to FirstGroup, prompting it to demand a review.

Labour had also urged the government to defer signing the contract so that MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) could examine it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19467510

[BerkshireBugsy]

Don't think this has been posted elsewhere on this forum so here is the news from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19467510