Great Northern
Rail Minister asks Transport for London to provide a business case for possible takeover of Great Northern inner-suburban services.
GREAT Northern inner-suburban trains could be operated by Transport for London by September 2022, Rail Minister Chris HeatonHarris has confirmed.
In a letter dated June 19 to Heidi Alexander, Deputy
Mayor, Transport and Deputy Chairwoman, Transport for
London, he wrote: “As you know, TfL has submitted a Strategic Outline Business Case for the devolution of these services. This has now been reviewed by my officials, and I have been advised of the potential benefits of devolution and the challenges which would need to be overcome to deliver a successful transfer to TfL.”
The services run from Moorgate and London King’s Cross as far north as Letchworth Garden City.
The idea of transferring them from Govia Thameslink Railway to TfL was put forward by former Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling in 2018, following the collapse of the Virgin Trains
East Coast franchise and the possibility of other GN routes being added to that operation at a later date. It had also been suggested in the Gibb report looking at GTR, published the year before.
However, Heaton-Harris warns that the decision to explore TfL taking over the GN Inners does not necessarily imply that other rail operations identified by TfL would be devolved in the future.
As for costs, he wrote that it was assumed any transfer would be cost-neutral for Government. But now that the Department for Transport is providing emergency funding for TfL, the Minister wants it set out how the costs would work in practice, including a consideration of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how costs can be controlled.
Heaton-Harris continued: “I must stress that the potential benefits and risks are finely balanced, and there is significant uncertainty surrounding some of the key underlying assumptions. That said, I believe there is a sufficient justification to explore the future of these services in more detail, and I have asked my officials to support TfL in developing this proposal further.”
He added that any transfer of services ultimately requires Treasury approval.
Heaton-Harris wrote that an Outline Business Case (OBC) should be developed and highlighted some of the factors for consideration - including strategic risks and benefits, and why the preferred option will deliver the best results.
Devolving the GN Inners would result in ten stations outside the Greater London Authority boundary being served by TfL, wrote HeatonHarris. He added that the OBC should clearly set out the safeguards that TfL should ensure, regarding accountability for passengers travelling from these stations.
It must also factor in the operational impact of the transfer, with Heaton-Harris highlighting the recent introduction of Class 717s, and how devolution supports strategic decision-making while delivering operational simplicity that does not affect performance of other operators.
Heaton-Harris stated: “I note that TfL and Department for Transport officials have developed a project plan which would potentially deliver a transfer before September 2022.”
However, he warns: “Before any date of transfer is determined I would like to be assured that we can achieve all we need to in terms of deliverability with no detrimental impact on passengers in terms of service.”