Train wars

Go-ahead franchise bid derailed by rival

RAIL company Go-ahead, the operator of the beleaguered Southern network, has lost its bid for the West Midlands franchise to a rival offer pledging hundreds of new carriages and free Wi-fi.

Shares in Go-ahead fell 3.4pc to £17.40 on the news its joint venture Govia, which it runs with French group Keolis, has failed to keep the rail fran- chise it has held for a decade.

The Department for Transport (DFT) has handed the contract to a consortium consisting of Dutch transport company Abellio, East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui & Co. This bid, which was the only rival to Govia’s, will also see councils in the West Midlands have greater control over trains that run in the region.

Go-ahead said it was “disappointed” its bid was unsuccessful given it had “delivered significant improvements across the entire network”, which it runs under the London Midland brand. The loss means it will now only run Southeastern and the GTR franchises, which include the troubled Southern network that has been plagued by strike action in the last year.

The Abellio-led bid will see nearly £1bn invested in services on the network, which runs out of London Euston to towns and cities including Crewe, Liverpool and Birmingham. The contract runs from December until March 2026. The DFT said 400 new carriages would be rolled out by 2021 with space for an extra 85,000 passengers – combining standing and seated travellers – on rush hour services in Birmingham and London.

Under the contract, passengers will also get free Wi-fi on all mainline services by the end of 2019, compensation if trains are delayed more than 15 minutes, and improved disabled access. Smart ticketing and live passenger information will also be rolled out under the deal, as part of a package of reforms aimed at improving journeys for rail travellers.

The DFT added trains running only in the West Midlands area would be jointly operated by the department and West Midlands Rail, a consortium of 16 local councils, and branded under West Midlands Rail. Trains running from London to Liverpool do not yet have a brand confirmed.

Andy Street, the former John Lewis managing director who was elected as the Conservative West Midlands mayor in May, said: “Having the ability to use our local knowledge and understanding to shape what West Midlands Trains will deliver for passengers under this franchise has been a game changer.”

This move builds on a speech by Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, which expressed support for the devolution of Network Rail.