First/Trenitalia withdraws East Midlands bid
A Joint Venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia UK has pulled out of the bidding for the East Midlands franchise.
In a statement, the companies said the decision was made so they could focus on a joint bid for the West Coast Partnership.
This leaves Abellio, Arriva and current franchise operator Stagecoach in the bidding for East Midlands, which is due to be awarded in April 2019 ahead of an August 2019 start.
The current deal is a Direct Award that is due to end in March next year, but there is an additional 1-13 reporting period extension available to the Secretary of State if required. A further DA is planned from March until August next year.
A FirstGroup spokesman said: “FirstGroup, alongside our bidding partner Trenitalia UK, has decided to withdraw from the East Midlands franchise competition in order to focus on our joint bid for the West Coast Partnership franchise. This is an exciting opportunity to be the first operator of HS2, as well as run conventional West Coast services from London to Glasgow.”
The Invitation to Tender for East Midlands was due to be issued as this issue of RAIL went press.
The company says it remains committed to “retaining a leading position in the UK rail market”. It also operates the Great Western Railway and TransPennine Express (TPE) franchises, and is a 70/30 partner with MTR in the South Western Railway franchise. It also runs First Hull Trains’ open access operations.
“We will continue to bid in a disciplined way which is good for our stakeholders, the sector as a whole and, above all, passengers,” the spokesman added.
The current East Midlands operation covers the Midland Main Line from St Pancras InternationalNottingham /Sheffield, as well as running local trains to Matlock, Crewe, Lincoln, Doncaster and Skegness. The Norwich-Liverpool route is also part of the East Midlands franchise, which replaced the Midland Mainline franchise in 2007 and included parts of the Central Trains deal.
Government is consulting on remapping the franchise, with Nottingham-Liverpool possibly added to TPE and other routes added to the CrossCountry franchise.
New bi-mode trains are planned for the MML from 2022, with electrification due to be in place by 2020. However, there will be a shortfall in rolling stock as nine High Speed Trains do not meet disability requirements and cannot be modified in time ( RAIL 849). No decision on replacement stock has been made.