East Midlands franchise
THREE companies have been shortlisted to operate the new East Midlands franchise.
Arriva Rail East Midlands Ltd, First Trenitalia East Midlands Rail Ltd (a joint venture between First Rail Holdings Ltd and Trenitalia UK Ltd) and Stagecoach East Midlands Ltd are bidding for the franchise.
Stagecoach currently operates it as East Midlands Trains, in a deal that started in November 2007. No length for the new franchise has been announced, but in a statement Stagecoach said the Department for Transport indicated it could be anywhere from seven to 15 years.
A DfT spokesman told RAIL on March 2: “The East Midlands franchise shortlist has been announced at an early stage of the project. Our work on the specification of the franchise is ongoing and subject to public consultation. Decisions on the specification of the franchise will be set out in the Invitation to Tender.”
Announcing the shortlist, Rail Minister Paul Maynard said: “A flourishing rail network brings real growth and prosperity to the region it serves. Network Rail is working on improvements which by 2019 will enable the next East Midlands franchise to deliver more carriages and faster journeys over the whole route, including almost twice as many seats into London St Pancras in the peak hours.”
He added: “The new franchise is vital in supporting Government ambitions to make the Midlands region an engine for growth, by improving connections within and outside the region, and supporting the East Midlands industry and leisure economy.
“In particular, ministers want to improve the quality, frequency and timings of journeys on the east of the franchise network, and to seek to develop new services and connections.”
Maynard said the new franchisee will be expected to meet predicted growth, particularly into London St Pancras and on local services, with Derby to Crewe highlighted. No mention was made of the Norwich to Liverpool route, which could be split under Government plans, with trains running as far as Nottingham.
The DfT explained that although the current EMT deal is due to end on March 4 next year, Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling has the power to extend it by a further year.
EMT operates the ninth oldest train operating company fleet, with an average age of 24.3 years for its stock, but it is the second oldest fleet in the UK with no current replacement plans. Local politicians and councils have called for new bi-mode trains, while a
recent Government document revealed that the Midland Main Line electrification plans went only as far as Corby, with nothing mentioned for further north. It had been planned that overhead wires would be extended from Bedford to Nottingham and Sheffield.
Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Martin Griffiths said: “The railway in the East Midlands is crucial to the regional economy. There is a huge opportunity to build on the network’s success to create new jobs, build the skills of our people and improve connectivity across the region. We can also leverage our experience of bringing train and track closer together to develop plans that deliver a better customer experience to today’s passengers and those we attract in the future.”
First Rail Managing Director Steve Montgomery said: “Both ourselves and Trenitalia have extensive expertise of running commuter, regional and long-distance services such as those that make up the East Midlands franchise.
“Trenitalia’s knowledge will add further depth and understanding, as we develop our proposals to deliver passenger benefits that take full advantage of the significant investment that Government and the industry are making in the region’s rail infrastructure.
Barbara Morgante, CEO of Trenitalia, said: “We believe that the experience, competence, innovation and skills of Trenitalia and First-Group, developed in international markets, represent a perfect mix to run the East Midlands franchise together.”
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “Here we go again. The same old bunch of failures, chancers and overseas rip-off merchants are lined up to plunder the East Midlands franchise, with the UK public ownership option ignored once again.
“The German and Italian states are in the frame and are rubbing their hands at the prospect of fleecing the British travelling public to subsidise their own domestic rail operations. That is a scandal.
“This latest fiasco, showing yet again this Government is quite happy to have state ownership of our railways as long as it’s not the British state, reinforces the case for renationalisation of our entire rail network.”