Rail franchise blueprint will stay secret after bid deadline

THE Welsh Government has dismayed rail users by insisting that its instructions to bidders for the next Wales and Borders franchise must remain secret, even after today’s deadline for final bids has passed.

Three companies are vying for the 15-year contract, estimated to be worth between £3.5bn and £5bn. In September they were formally invited to submit their bids by December 21.

Last spring the Government said it could not publish the draft franchise specification which it planned to give bidders because the specification was “part of the process” of procuring the new train operator, which is due to take over from Arriva Trains Wales in October.

Although the bids must be submitted by today, the Government says the specification given to bidders in September will remain under wraps for several more months.

A government spokesman said: “Once the service provider has been appointed, next spring, we will make further documents, including the full tender document, public.

“Three companies with world-class credentials have been invited to submit final tenders, an invite which included sensitive details which, if released at this stage, risks derailing the process.”

The Government declined to explain why the sensitive details could not be redacted to enable the documents to be released.

The spokesman also said: “We recently published our Rail Services for the Future document, which clearly outlines priorities for the next franchise.”

However, passenger groups say that document contains only generalisations and does not show, for example, what frequency of train service the Government requires for each line.

John Allcock, chairman of the Wrexham-Bidston Rail Users’ Association, said: “It’s fundamentally flawed because it talks about connecting communities in Wales and ignores cross-border services.”

He said his group had asked the Government repeatedly for a copy of the formal Invitation To Tender (ITT) for the franchise. “It’s the first major procurement exercise for anything where I haven’t seen the ITT published. This is the most major procurement exercise the Welsh Government have gone through, and I’m surprised that it’s not in the public domain.”

National campaign group Railfuture Wales said it regretted the decision of Transport for Wales (TfW) not to publish the minimum service requirements. TfW is the Welsh Government-owned company which is managing the procurement process.

Chairman Peter Kingsbury said: “This is disappointing, as it has prevented all stakeholders with an interest in ensuring the highest quality of service for rail users understanding how the bidders could respond to the challenge laid down by TfW.

“It is particularly puzzling why TfW is unwilling to make this information available after December 21, the date for the submission of final tenders from the three companies competing to operate the new franchise, has passed.

“This lack of transparency has prevented stakeholders from making meaningful detailed comments on the aspirations of TfW for the future quality and shape of the Welsh rail network despite TfW undertaking two rounds of public consultation since the launch of the renewal of franchise process began in 2016.”

The previous public consultations were criticised for focusing on generic issues, such as the legroom and luggage space on trains, rather than specific service proposals for the franchise’s routes and stations.

Mr Allcock said the only details which had emerged had come from the UK Government, which released details of minimum and maximum requirements for the franchise’s services in England. They included the option of “up to two trains per hour”, instead of one per hour, on the Wrexham to Bidston line, which provides connections between Wrexham, Flintshire, Deeside Industrial Park and Merseyside. His group wanted to know when the second train per hour would begin and whether the Welsh Government had made this improvement mandatory or optional.

The Welsh Government’s Rail Services for the Future document names various routes where the franchise “could include” improved services. It says: “We want everyone in Wales to benefit from more efficient rail services on better, more modern trains. We recognise that there are other ways our communities across Wales can benefit. We want a sustainable model that meets the goals of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.”

The companies bidding for the contract are Abellio, KeolisAmey and MTR Corporation.