{"id":81785,"date":"2017-06-22T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=e2e11e8597421478b5027a4c1408c7f1"},"modified":"2017-06-22T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T06:00:00","slug":"news-story-bidders-for-2-rail-franchises-named-by-government","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=81785","title":{"rendered":"News story: Bidders for 2 rail franchises named by government"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>The government has today (22 June 2017) announced the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/west-coast-partnership-and-south-eastern-rail-franchise-bidders\">names of the companies<\/a> in the running for the new West Coast Partnership (<abbr title=\"West Coast Partnership\">WCP<\/abbr>) rail franchise and the next South Eastern franchise.<\/p>\n<p>Passenger numbers have more than doubled since privatisation of the railways 20 years ago and our country\u2019s railways need to adapt and change to be able to cope with this and future demands. This government is committed to revolutionising our railways through innovation and investment to transform passengers\u2019 experiences and ensure our railways work for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>This is an exciting time for both franchises, which are changing to ensure passengers are at the heart of their services. The winner of the <abbr title=\"West Coast Partnership\">WCP<\/abbr> franchise will be expected to work with <abbr title=\"High Speed 2\">HS2<\/abbr> <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr> to launch the first services on <abbr title=\"High Speed 2\">HS2<\/abbr>, taking advantage of the extra space it will provide for commuters on the West Coast Main Line. The winner of the South Eastern franchise will need to work as one team with Network Rail to ensure passengers experience better journeys and provide longer trains with more space.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"west-coast-partnership-franchise\">West Coast Partnership franchise<\/h2>\n<p>The <abbr title=\"West Coast Partnership\">WCP<\/abbr> will be responsible for services on the West Coast Main Line from April 2019 and will design and run the initial <abbr title=\"High Speed 2\">HS2<\/abbr> high speed services between London and Birmingham from 2026.<\/p>\n<p>The shortlist contains bidding consortia which sees <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr> rail network experts working in partnership with companies that operate high speed railways around the globe, supported by businesses which have an excellent track record in customer services.<\/p>\n<p>They are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First Trenitalia West Coast <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>, a joint venture between First Rail Holdings <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr> and Trenitalia <abbr title=\"Societ\u00e0 Per Azioni\">SpA<\/abbr>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<abbr title=\"Mass Transit Railway\">MTR<\/abbr> West Coast Partnership <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>, a joint venture between <abbr title=\"Mass Transit Railway\">MTR<\/abbr> Corporation (<abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr>) <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr> and Guangshen Railway Company, with the following key sub-contractors:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Deloitte MCS <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>\n<\/li>\n<li>Panasonic Systems Europe<\/li>\n<li>Snowfall AB<\/li>\n<li>Trainline.com <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>\n<\/li>\n<li>WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>West Coast Partnership <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>, a joint venture between Stagecoach Group plc, Virgin Holdings <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr> and <abbr title=\"Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer\">SNCF<\/abbr> C3<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The West Coast Partnership will support growth and better services on the West Coast Main Line while helping to ensure that <abbr title=\"High Speed 2\">HS2<\/abbr> becomes the backbone of Britain\u2019s railways.<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">This will create more seats for passengers, improve connections between our great cities, free up space on existing rail lines and generate jobs and economic growth throughout the country. I look forward to seeing the bidders\u2019 innovative ideas to put passengers at the heart of the railway.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The winning bidder will collaborate with <abbr title=\"High Speed 2\">HS2<\/abbr> <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr> to design, launch and operate the initial <abbr title=\"High Speed 2\">HS2<\/abbr> services and deliver the transition of the timetable on the West Coast Main Line as it is revised to take advantage of the extra capacity provided by <abbr title=\"High Speed 2\">HS2<\/abbr>. There are significant benefits in bringing the 2 projects closer together to ensure the best outcomes for passengers both before and after the start of the <abbr title=\"High Speed 2\">HS2<\/abbr> services.<\/p>\n<p>The new operator will also be expected to work closely with local transport authorities, Transport Scotland and the Welsh government to ensure passengers receive the excellent experience they demand from the West Coast Main Line.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"south-eastern-franchise\">South Eastern franchise<\/h2>\n<p>The companies which want to run the next South Eastern franchise are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>South Eastern Holdings <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>, a joint venture company that on franchise award will be wholly owned by Abellio Transport Group <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr> and East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui &amp; <abbr title=\"Company\">Co<\/abbr> <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>\n<\/li>\n<li>London and South East Passenger Rail Services <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>, a wholly owned subsidiary of Govia <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>\n<\/li>\n<li>Stagecoach South Eastern Trains <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>, a wholly owned subsidiary of Stagecoach Group plc<\/li>\n<li>Trenitalia <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr> <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>, wholly owned by Trenitalia <abbr title=\"Societ\u00e0 Per Azioni\">SpA<\/abbr>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">South Eastern is one of the busiest franchises in the <abbr title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/abbr>, running almost 2,000 services every weekday. We want passengers to be at the heart of everything that the new operator does, enjoying modern, spacious trains on a more punctual and reliable service.  We will listen to what passengers say in the current public consultation, and we will seek to make changes and improvements only with their support.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Secretary of State has been clear that his ambitions for the franchise include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>creating more space for passengers on modern comfortable trains<\/li>\n<li>increasing the reliability of trains by using the latest technology while reducing delays by encouraging the operator to work closely with Network Rail<\/li>\n<li>improving passenger compensation arrangements and supporting smart ticketing<\/li>\n<li>improving customer service, with staff able to respond quickly and effectively, including during disruption<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/consultations\/future-of-south-eastern-rail-services\">consultation for people to share their views and priorities for the South Eastern franchise<\/a> runs until 30 June 2017. The new franchise is planned to start in December 2018.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"new-companies-enter-the-market\">New companies enter the market<\/h2>\n<p>Two companies have also applied for a pre-qualification questionnaire passport to allow them to enter the bidding process. These firms are now eligible to express an interest in all upcoming rail franchise competitions until September 2019. These companies are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amey Rail <abbr title=\"Limited\">Ltd<\/abbr>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<abbr title=\"Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer\">SNCF<\/abbr> C3<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"contact \" id=\"contact_1019\">\n<div class=\"content\">\n<h3>Rail media enquiries<\/h3>\n<div class=\"vcard contact-inner\">\n<div class=\"email-url-number\">\n<p class=\"tel\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Media enquiries<\/span><br \/>\n              020 7944 3021\n            <\/p>\n<p class=\"tel\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Out of hours media enquiries<\/span><br \/>\n              020 7944 4292\n            <\/p>\n<p class=\"tel\">\n              <span class=\"type\">Switchboard<\/span><br \/>\n              0300 330 3000\n            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Announcing companies in the running for the new West Coast Partnership and South Eastern rail franchise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81785"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=81785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81792,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81785\/revisions\/81792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=81785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=81785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=81785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}