Great Western Coffee Shop

I'm trying to remember but I think that DOR did something similar during the franchise extension negotiations with Virgin Trains. Can't recall if the RMT picked up on that!

In fact, the DfT has reiterated this position this morning in the following statement:

^Whenever the DfT enters negotiations for a new franchise agreement it has to ask
Directly Operated Railways to carry out minimum preparatory work to protect
passenger services. This is just a routine standard procedure and part of the
Government^s sensible contingency planning. It does not relate in any way to how
the negotiations are proceeding and it is wrong for the RMT to suggest otherwise.^

First Great Western submits rail franchise bid

Train operator First Great Western has submitted its bid to extend its current contract by more than two years.

It follows a request by the government earlier in the year asking if it could operate trains on the Great Western line for another 33 months.

It followed the collapse of the West Coast Mainline deal.

The First Great Western franchise includes services from London Paddington to South Wales, the Cotswolds and the West of England.

Ten of the country's 16 rail franchises are due for renewal before the general election, expected in 2015.

Glad to hear that as July 4 was the deadline....

DOR are just keeping alll options open.

There is a deadline of 13th (I think) October for agreement on an extension. DOR need these certificates in place before that date in order to continue running trains the day afterwards.

Railway talks in 'chaos' claims

The West's under-fire train company has dismissed as "baseless" claims that the negotiations with the Government over the new franchise are "teetering on the brink of collapse".

The denial comes on the day the firm was named as the least popular rail company among passengers.

First Great Western said the negotiations with the Department of Transport on a deal to run train services across Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Avon, Somerset and the far South West were "in accordance with the schedule". It denied claims by rail unions that the talks were in trouble.

The denial comes on the day the firm was named as the least popular rail company among passengers.

I suspect that it is a case of bluff and counter bluff as each party seeks to get the best deal.

Not sure that you can read too much into it, but FGW issued new staff passes recently which are valid for another year or so!

What ever they do will be wrong.

Concerns have been raised about the tendering process for Devon and Cornwall's main rail franchise.

Plymouth City Council's leader has written to the transport secretary saying he fears a two-year extension of First Great Western's (FGW) contract will mean a delay to improvements.

He said he wanted to see faster journeys and improved internet access.


The FGW franchise includes services from London Paddington to South Wales, the Cotswolds and the West of England.

In his letter to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, Labour councillor Tudor Evans said: "It is my concern that such a short-term franchise being put in place, as a result of the government's decision to stop the franchise process, that the urgently-needed improvements to Plymouth's rail services will not be delivered."

He said the business community regularly complained about the "poor and intermittent wi-fi connectivity on our train services" and a lack of an early morning train from London to Plymouth.

'Incredibly disappointing'

Mr Evans said that because the franchise was only for a short period, with no decision on what would happen at the end of it, he wanted the government to "de-risk" the arrangement.

He added that it had been made clear in the Brown Review into the rail franchises that if short franchises are to be introduced, measures should be put in place to ensure that operators had the incentive to invest in the necessary infrastructure to improve the operation.


There's a bafflingly-wide range of opinions in the region about First Great Western and its stewardship of most of our rail services.

The RMT says it's now time to re-nationalise here via Directly Operated Railways.

At the same time one seasoned rail commentator, Neill Mitchell, has told us that the way customers have flocked to the railways here under First is "an astonishing achievement".

The franchise that's now bumping to an untidy end didn't work out as planned. The downturn blew First's expected revenue growth off-course and also derailed hopes of a new mainline train fleet.

Then the West Coast franchise debacle made sure the process of lining up an operator for the next 15 years hasn't run remotely to timetable.

Any day now, First will be confirmed as our main rail operator until 2016, and only then will the fight begin over who gets the long-term franchise.

"I am therefore looking to the government to assist in the delivery of these improvements within the interim franchise arrangements," Mr Evans said.

A 15-year franchise should have begun earlier this year, but the government's rail industry franchise programme was delayed after the West Coast bidding process had to be abandoned.

Since then, First's tenure on the Paddington route and all branch lines and local services has been continuing but it will end on 12 October.

It is believed FirstGroup will be granted the franchise for a further period of two years and nine months.

The company is now in talks with the government about what sort of service First must provide.

But Tim Jones, from the Devon and Somerset Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "We understand that the government is about to award FirstGroup an extension to their existing contract on what is described as a 'vanilla package', which means that there will be no new investment... which is incredibly disappointing."

Rail union the RMT has urged the government to take the franchise back into public hands.

Brendan Kelly, from the RMT, said: "It's costing the industry around about ^1.2bn a year to keep franchises private.

"That money could actually save about 18% off of fares if it was reinvested back into the industry and was used to subsides fares."

FirstGroup is the only commercial candidate being considered to run the service up to 2016, although the government has a fall-back option in the form of the publicly-owned Directly Operated Railways

Any day now, First will be confirmed as our main rail operator until 2016

Any day now, First may be confirmed as our main rail operator until 2016

Standards @ the Beeb are steadily dropping

"It is my concern that such a short-term franchise being put in place, as a result of the government's decision to stop the franchise process, that the urgently-needed improvements to Plymouth's rail services will not be delivered."

What improvements were these then?  If the re-franchising had gone ahead as planned, what improvements to Plymouth services were actually intended - I can see nothing in the lapsed ITT at all...

So what is his actual point?

Paul

THE Department for Transport has said it is close to completing negotiations with First Great Western to run the Great Western mainline for another three years.

It's expected that train passengers in the region will hear tomorrow that First Great Western's contract has been extended for a further two years.

The Government has been forced to extend it after the last round of franchise negotiations collapsed in chaos.

But there are worries that services may be reduced, and there'll be further delays to much needed investment.

http://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/update/2013-10-02/train-companys-contract-expected-to-be-extended/?
...But there are worries that services may be reduced, and there'll be further delays to much needed investment.

Nothing on DfT or Gov newswires (as with previous announcements being made at 00:01), however I reckon an embargoed press release has been leaked out with itv being the first to break it.

Rail passengers will benefit from improved services, including greater WiFi coverage, on the Great Western network as a result of a new franchise agreement announced today (3 October 2013).

Under the agreement the government has reached with First Greater Western Ltd (FGW), the company will continue running the franchise to operate trains between London Paddington, the Cotswolds, south Wales and the south west.

The new 23 month franchise is a further sign that the government^s programme is on-track. It will also enable the continued delivery of vital work to upgrade the line in future, including electrification to help deliver faster, more reliable journeys.

A multi-billion pound programme of national rail investment by Network Rail has already seen more than ^5 billion pumped into projects benefitting passengers on the Great Western network. These include Crossrail, the electrification of more than 200 miles of track on the Great Western line, and the upgrade of Reading Station.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:

The Great Western franchise provides a vital service for thousands of passengers every day and under this deal they will see real benefits.

For communities like Devon and Cornwall the train is a life-line bringing in business and helping secure the leisure industry the community relies upon. This agreement will provide additional sleeper carriages between London and Cornwall securing the future of a key service once under threat.

We have also secured a commitment to deliver greater WiFi coverage to improve the experience of long distance journeys for passengers. But I am also determined that we see further improvements during the lifetime of this contract; more standard class and fewer first class seats on key services and the delivery of more electric trains for the Thames Valley.

This agreement provides further proof that the government^s new franchising schedule is on track, delivering value for money for the tax-payer and supporting the ongoing multi-billion pound investment programme in our railways.

Today^s announcement is part of the continued successful roll out of the new rail franchising schedule. The government has agreed a 23 month direct award with FGW to run services from London Paddington to west and south west England and south Wales and commuter services into Paddington until September 2015. A further contract will be negotiated before a long-term franchise is let.

Wider benefits secured as part of this announcement by the Department for Transport include:

two additional sleeper carriages for services between London and Cornwall, to provide additional seasonal capacity for leisure and business passengers - this agreement has been reached with the support of Cornwall Council and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, which have provided additional funding for the service in recognition of the important role it plays in meeting the needs of business travellers
an agreement to fit more trains with free wireless internet services, so that passengers will be able to work and surf while travelling - priority for this upgrade will be given to long-distance trains, providing the benefits to the passengers who need it most
the retention of through services from Cornwall, Hereford, Weston-super-Mare, Bedwyn and Pewsey to London
more car parking spaces at Bristol Parkway station by spring 2014
In addition the government-funded National Station Improvement Programme will see FGW get ^4.6 million to upgrade stations most in need across the Great Western network.

The Great Western Main Line is also set to benefit from 57 state-of-the-art intercity express trains as part of the government^s ^5.8 billion Intercity Express Programme from 2017.

The Department for Transport will continue to work with FGW on a number of other proposals to improve services over the next two years, including:

delivery of a fleet of electric trains for the Thames Valley routes, which will allow for existing diesel trains to go to other areas of the franchise where they are needed, increasing capacity on those areas of the network
increasing the capacity of the existing high speed train fleet, with the addition of new seating in advance of the arrival of the new intercity express trains
smart ticketing
the delivery of improvements to services and stations through the life of the direct award
The contract is the third direct award to be delivered by the department following the successful negotiations with Virgin Trains in December last year for them to continue running services on the West Coast Main Line and the award made to c2c for the Essex Thameside franchise in May. The department has also successfully released on schedule invitations to tender for the Essex Thameside and Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchises last month.

The government announced its new franchising schedule in March following an independent review by industry expert Richard Brown, which endorsed the department^s overall franchise strategy. He also advised staggering competitions to make them more deliverable and the government has announced a programme of direct awards to deliver this.

Ongoing improvements being delivered across the Great Western franchise by Network Rail also include:

the redevelopment of Reading Station creating new platforms, better track layout and junction remodelling to remove a major bottleneck, reduce delays and create four extra train paths in each direction per hour
the electrification of GWML from Paddington to Bristol, Oxford and Newbury by 2016-17, which will allow the introduction of new intercity express trains. These trains will have 20 per cent more seats and their faster acceleration and deceleration will lead to journey time reductions of up to 22 minutes
the creation of a second track on 12 miles of the south Cotswold line to improve overall capacity between Swindon and Standish Junction and provide an enhanced diversionary route for south Wales
proposed improvements to stations working with FGW at Gloucester, Exeter Central, Newton Abbot, Plymouth and Truro, having completed schemes at Newbury, Didcot Parkway, Swindon, Cheltenham, Chippenham and Penzance.

^2 extra sleeper coaches - one for each sleeper train plus an additional seating coach - but described as 'seasonal' so perhaps not permanent additions?

^More free Wi-fi being fitted - priority to long-distance (i.e. HSTs) - no indication that the turbos are to get it. I doubt it.

^"More electric trains for the Thames Valley" - but confirmation elsewhere of the numbers already ordered, so this may be spin with nothing additional to order already placed

but nothing you could quote with authority at all...

Wonder why the improved TransWilts service doesn't get a mention in the improvements?  I'd have thought that was an ideal thing to publicise as part of the deal - or is it still not quite at the definite stage?

Wonder why the improved TransWilts service doesn't get a mention in the improvements?  I'd have thought that was an ideal thing to publicise as part of the deal - or is it still not quite at the definite stage?

Long term plans include a full upgrade of the Night Riviera Sleeper Service, new maintenance facilities at Penzance and bringing forward the upgrade of the signalling on the rail line between Penzance and Plymouth.

This should support faster, more frequent trains on the mainline throughout Cornwall to enable a spinal half hour shuttle service

In the normal course resignalling would be nothing to do with a franchisee, so I don't think it wouldn't normally be mentioned in the context of a franchise extension.

Paul

So, the new stuff that hasn't been announced previously, I reckon is -

^The most interesting item - this contract only runs to September 2015, where the DfT schedule for re-franchising shows FGW being refranchised in July16. I wonder why this contract doesn't go that far? It may simply be to get around EU rules on large contracts being advertised in the EU journal. I guess "A further contract will be negotiated before a long-term franchise is let." covers the further extension to July16.
....
I wonder why this contract/franchise was only let until 20/09/15 and not the re-franchise date of July16? That could be really interesting!

Why is there no mention (as far as I can see) in the franchise announcement about the financial arrangements with FGW? Have FGW been screwed down or have FGW got themselves a good deal? Anyone out there who can throw some light on this?

The DfT announced on Thursday that it had awarded the new franchise to FGW but declined to disclose any financial figures.

The DfT today told WalesOnline the premium would be ^32.5m for the 23 months and FGW would incur additional costs of ^150m in both years of the new franchise, compared with the costs envisaged in the 2006 franchise contract.

The DfT said the additional costs will include:

* a significant increase in the charges FGW will pay for the use of Network Rail^s tracks, as determined by the Office of Rail Regulation;

* costs resulting from disruption to services while the Great Western line is electrified;

* heavy maintenance of rolling stock and essential maintenance work on the High Speed Train fleet;

* payments for using a new train depot at Reading, which will be higher than those for the old depot;

* preparatory work for the new Super Express Trains, which are due to arrive from Japan and begin testing in 2015.

The DfT added that the 2006 franchise contract had assumed that FGW would by now have the benefit of new trains, but FGW would have to keep the High Speed Trains ^ dating from the 1970s ^ in service for longer.

The new franchise also puts an end to payments which the DfT has been making to FGW to compensate for revenue from fares being lower than expected when the 2006 contract was awarded.

Tories Hand ^247 Million Discount To First Great Western

Tories blow millions by handing rail firm massive discount to keep trains private

Tory ministers faced an angry backlash yesterday after it was revealed they have given rail privateer First Great Western (FGW) nearly a quarter of a billion pounds discount on its rail franchise.

FGW will pay just ^32.5 million in premiums for the 23 months of the new extension, which lasts until 2015.

The premiums of the last two years of the previous contract amounted to ^279m, revealing an astonishing ^247m loss of payments to the taxpayer over a similar period under the current deal.

The extension was granted after a review of the government's tendering process which was put on hold following a complaint by Virgin Trains in 2012 over "significant technical flaws" when FGW operator FirstGroup won a bid on the West Coast franchise that Virgin was then operating.

The West Coast deal was annulled and the franchise process was put under review, with the government now set to pay the train companies ^50m in compensation as a result.

Since the outcome of the review this April the government has concentrated on selling off the publicly owned and profitable East Coast line, while delaying the franchising tender of FGW run services by providing the massively discounted contract extension.

Railway union RMT said the figures backed up the union's claim that the government is ideologically opposed to a public-sector option. It said that franchise extensions are being awarded "on back-of-an-envelope calculations with the companies able to fill their boots with outrageous financial demands."

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "It is a scandal that the only reason for these costly contract extensions is David Cameron's decision to rig the franchising timetable so that he can carry out a totally unnecessary privatisation of East Coast rail services."

Labour's shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh also spotlighted the Tories' "obsession" with selling off East Coast while handing buckets of cash over to greedy rail companies. She said: "David Cameron should tackle his government's cost of living crisis and cap rail fare rises for struggling commuters, instead of obsessing about handing East Coast over to the private sector. East Coast is working well and will have returned ^800 million to the taxpayer by the end of this financial year. This government has learned nothing from the West Coast franchising fiasco, which saw over ^50m of taxpayers' money wasted in compensation to train companies because of ministers' incompetence."

Train drivers' union Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan pointed out that FGW had cancelled the last three years of its current contract to avoid paying the taxpayer ^800m in franchise fees. He said: "It now seems this will be exacerbated by the fact that it will not have to pay the full market value for its extended contract. The truth is that the privatised train-operating companies think that the public should pay for the investment, while they make a private profit."

FGW did not respond to the Star's request for a comment.

Rail union franchise claims expose Great Western train ^robbery^

A railway union has claimed the 23-month contract extension handed to First Great Western cost the Treasury ^247 million in lost income.

The RMT says it has unearthed figures revealing the true cost of the interim deal, calling it a ^shambles^ which left taxpayers out of pocket.

FirstGroup^s First Great Western train company was last month told it could keep the franchise to run trains into Wales and the South West for another two years.

The original tender process was put on hold after the Department for Transport^s (DfT) awarding of longer-term rail franchises ran into trouble last year. Officials admitted there had been ^significant technical flaws^ in the tendering process for the West Coast Main Line, which were originally given to FirstGroup

The October announcement was broadly welcomed after promises of more seating, sleeper carriage capacity and improved wi-fi connection.

The RMT said its research showed that First will pay just ^32.5 million in premiums for the new extension. However, it said the premiums of the last two years of the previous contract had amounted to ^279 million, thereby delivering a ^247m loss to the taxpayer over a similar period under the current deal.

General secretary Bob Crow said: ^The news that the rail franchising shambles is set to cost the taxpayer another quarter of billion pounds on the Great Western route will come as a bitter blow to staff and passengers contending with attacks on pay and conditions and eye-watering fare increases to travel on notoriously overcrowded trains.

^First Group are laughing all the way to the bank, not only did they dodge ^800 million in premium payments by ducking out of the old contract early but they^ve now ended up with a rollover dropping into their laps worth a cool quarter of a billion in further lost returns to the taxpayer.^

A DfT spokesman said the Great Western franchise had been ^carefully developed to achieve the maximum benefit for taxpayers and passengers^ and an ^appropriate amount^ was being paid to FirstGroup.

First said the RMT^s figures ^only tell half the story.^

^Their deliberately misleading calculations fail to make any acknowledgment of the increased costs that First Great Western will incur over the two years of the new contract,^ a spokesman added. ^Our increased costs include higher payments to Network Rail for track access charges and the expanded Reading station and new train-care depot. We are also paying increased train maintenance costs for the existing InterCity 125 fleet, carrying out major overhaul works to prolong their lives.

"First Great Western^s part in supporting the ^8 billion investment in the route is also reflected in higher costs as we gear up to support the introduction of new trains and other service quality improvements. The deal is good news for passengers, taxpayers and our shareholders.^

Green Party's lead European candidate heads to Yeovil

Molly Scott Cato, the Green Party's lead candidate for next year^s European Elections, will be on tour in Dorset and South Somerset this weekend. She will be accompanied by Baroness Jones of Moulescomb, the Green Party's recently ennobled peer on her first visit outside the capital since entering the House of Lords.

Molly Scott Cato and Baroness Jones will be in Yeovil on Sunday, December 1 to listen to voters' concerns about transport, which has been Baronness Jones's top priority at the Greater London Authority. They will be meeting voters in Middle Street from 12noon till 1pm.

As well as discussing cycle safety and the safety issues with the A303, they will also be encouraging voters to sign the South-West Green Party's petition to reclaim the First Great Western rail franchise.

Molly Scott Cato said: "I am delighted to be joined by my old friend Jenny Jones to meet the voters of Dorset and Somerset and hear their issues and concerns. It is an honour that she has chosen to visit us so shortly after her ennoblement and I am sure that local people will value her expertise in the area of road safety."

Peter Lansdown, secretary of the local Green Party, which is hosting the visit, said: "Deaths and serious accidents on our roads present a source of concern to many local people. I am glad to have the opportunity to hear local peoples^ views about these issues and to be able to discuss them with two of our leading Green politicians.

"We will also be encouraging the people of Yeovil to get behind the Party's campaign to bring the First Great Western franchise back into public ownership."