Late delivery of stock leads to £47 million Sleeper charges
Transport Scotland “fully expects” Serco to fulfil its commitments regarding the Caledonian Sleeper contract.
In its accounts published on February 23, Serco reported a £47 million charge relating to the franchise, and that it was negotiating with Transport Scotland regarding the deal.
The £47m charge relates to the late delivery of Mk 5 stock built by CAF. Seventeen coaches are in Scotland, and are due to enter traffic on the London EustonEdinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central routes from October, having originally been due in traffic in the spring. Extra money has gone on retaining the existing Mk 2 and Mk 3 stock as a result.
A TS spokesman told RAIL: “Transport Scotland fully expects Serco to fulfil its commitments on the Caledonian Sleeper franchise, and it has confirmed its intention to do so. We will continue to oversee the contract with a focus on maintaining a quality product for passengers.”
The CS contract entitles Serco to propose a recalibration of the basis of contract payments after seven years of operation, which would be April 1 2022. TS has the option to accept such a proposal, or to terminate the contract in response to the proposal.
In its accounts, Serco said: “We will be examining every option for reducing operating costs; the position under the contract is expected to improve over time, as the terms of the Franchise Agreement provide a mechanism that requires Transport Scotland to bear 50% of contract losses from April 1 2020. In addition, from April 1 2022, we have the right to seek adjustments to the financial terms of the Franchise Agreement that would result either in a small positive profit margin for Serco from that date, or allow us to exit the contract.”
Before Serco started running the CS franchise, First ScotRail operated the Sleepers as part of the SR franchise.