DfT plans Direct Award for TPE contract

TransPennine Express is set to be the latest train operating franchise to continue under a Direct Award from the Department for Transport.

On March 8, the DfT announced its intention to grant incumbent operator FirstGroup up to an eightyear contract starting in April or May 2023. The core term is four years, after which the contract could be terminated with three months’ notice.

Services are expected to be “substantially similar to those currently operated” under the existing deal that dates from 2021.

Obligations on the operator will include supporting delivery of the York-Manchester Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU), which includes electrification, line speed improvements, and resignalling.

“The length of the Direct Award is intended to ensure service and stewardship continuity, given the scale and complexity of the planned TRU infrastructure programme,” said the DfT in its official announcement, known as a ‘prior information notice’.

“The latter would benefit from having a single operating company to deliver a partner role during the most disruptive phases of programme delivery, to reduce the risk of delay or increased cost introduced by going out to competition and changing owning group at a critical time of programme delivery.”

TPE services link north west England, Yorkshire and the Humber, north east England and Scotland. They serve key cities including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Hull and Newcastle.

First has operated TPE (initially in a joint venture with Keolis) since its launch as a standalone franchise in 2004.