Great Western Coffee Shop

First Great Western set to get five-year contract extension

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First Great Western's franchise includes services from London to South Wales and the West of England

First Great Western (FGW) is set to get a five-year extension to its contract without competition against other bidders, the BBC understands.

The railway firm has already been given two extensions since the franchising programme collapsed two years ago.

This extension enables a major rail electrification programme to be completed but it has angered the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

The franchise includes services from London Paddington to South Wales. It also passes through the Cotswolds and the West of England.

Brendon Kelly, from the RMT, said: "All the investment at current is coming from the government, nothing is coming from the private operators, they're literally just managing it and sharing out the dividends to their shareholders. That's money we could be spending on the railways."

Some ^5bn is being invested to electrify the track between Bristol and Cardiff, which involves major work such as raising road bridges.

The BBC understands the plan is to complete the electrification project, get the trains running and then put out a new franchise for the railway open to all bidders.

Chris Irwin, from passenger lobby group Travel Watch South West, said: "One of the worries was that before the government decided to look at the possibility of the five-year franchise extension, we'd get a new franchise entrant coming in. That new franchise entrant would lack the inside knowledge of how this particular bit of railway works and that would be a real disaster."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We are committed to providing better services, more seats and more trains across the rail network in the South West as part of our long-term economic plan. As part of that process we are currently negotiating a directly awarded contract for First Great Western to continue running services. We have not yet decided how long that contract will be."

TSGN is a 7 year franchise, that gives them until 2021 for the dust to settle, at which time presumably it will be re-let on a normal financial basis.

With First group continuing to run the services, they wont be able to blame anyone else for the interior of the new trains.

Duration of new FGW contract ^undecided^, DfT says



The Department for Transport (DfT) is negotiating a directly awarded contract for First Great Western (FGW) to continue running services in the south west, but reports that the contract is for five years are ^unfounded^.

Media reports have suggested that FGW could receive a five-year ^extension^ to run the line, but the DfT has stated ^we have not yet decided how long that contract will be^.

FGW spokesman Dan Panes told RTM the contract is not an ^extension^ but a new contract award, and the TOC is having to re-bid for the contract.

He said: ^This is not, and will not be, an extension of the current franchise. Just as this current franchise we^re in is not an extension of the previous one.

^It is not true that we^re not having to bid for it. We are having to put a proposal to the DfT, and although they have not gone out to full tender on that, they have lots of options open. This would be a completely new contract with new terms, and that^s why we have got to re-bid, because the DfT have to be happy it offers value for money.^

Panes added that when the DfT issued a procurement notice in March, which they have to do under EU rules, the maximum contract length that could be awarded was five years. ^That^s the absolute maximum that they could give us,^ he said.

The RMT rail workers^ union, however, has been angered by the potential decision and the ^lack of competition^.

Brendon Kelly, from the union, told the BBC: ^All the investment at current is coming from the government, nothing is coming from the private operators, they're literally just managing it and sharing out the dividends to their shareholders.

^That^s money we could be spending on the railways.^

A five-year contract would give time for the operator to handle the introduction of Hitachi^s new ^Super Express^ rolling stock onto the newly-electrified parts of the Great Western.

Panes said FGW would be best-placed to continue as the operator, having been there since the start of the electrification project.

^We think that is the solution that would offer best value for the Department and customers. But ultimately it is the DfT^s decision to see if that argument carries any weight,^ he told us.

As I have posted elsewhere on these forums I have very considerable misgivings about the new trains, especialy as regards catering provision, seat spacing, and passenger comfort in general.
It is said that the internal layout of the new trains is not "set in stone" but can be altered to better meet the needs of the TOC.
Had a different TOC  been appointed, I would have feared that First group would have accepted an inferior layout, and then lost the franchise to a competitor. The new lot would then be able to say "unfortunately the interior layout was not chosen by us, and it is not ideal for the high quality service that we aspire to deliver. We will do what we can with trains foisted on us"

With First group continuing to run the services, they wont be able to blame anyone else for the interior of the new trains.

No financial deal has yet been agreed, but FGW's parent company FirstGroup will be the only bidder. It was not available for comment.

We promised to keep you up to date with news on your rail services. [Xxx] is on leave but I know [xxx] would want me to make sure you were aware of today's announcement by the Secretary of State. He has confirmed that the length of the single tender Direct Award for the Great Western franchise (starting next October) will be 3.5 years, to March 2019. The Secretary of State would also have an option to extend the franchise for a further year.

He is quoted in today^s Guardian saying  ^As part of the government^s long-term economic plan I want to see rail travel in the South West transformed. That is why we are delivering a huge programme of electrification and new, modern trains bringing faster, more comfortable and more reliable journeys. First Great Western is best placed to help to deliver these projects over the next four years."

FirstGroup have also issued a statement which I have set out below for information.

STATEMENT RE: FIRST GREAT WESTERN FRANCHISE

FirstGroup, the leading transport operator in the UK and North America, notes the publication today by the Department for Transport (^DfT^) of an updated timetable for its rail franchising programme.

Today^s publication confirms that the DfT intend to negotiate a direct award for our First Great Western franchise with duration of three-and-a-half years to March 2019, with a further extension of up to one year at the DfT^s discretion. As previously announced this direct award will ensure stability during a period when a substantial programme of infrastructure upgrades will take place on the network and new trains are introduced.

Commenting, Tim O^Toole, FirstGroup^s Chief Executive, said:

^We welcome the publication of the latest DfT franchising timetable which continues to demonstrate clarity and momentum in the re-franchising programme. A period of detailed negotiation will follow but we are very pleased that, after a consultation process in which the DfT sought the views of stakeholders and user groups across the line of route, the DfT intend to negotiate a direct award of at least three-and-a-half years with us. This will offer good value for money and better services for First Great Western passengers and in particular, will provide stability and allow the planned major projects and new trains to be delivered.^

So 3.5 years from September 2015 to March 2019, 9 months before Crossrail is due to pop it's head out of the tunnel. But the possibility of a 1 year extension.

I think it will only be 2 the tph stoppers to Reading that will be transferring.
Paul

It's slightly more than that, Crossrail monopolises the Relief lines from Hayes to Padd in the pek Which is why Twyford and Maidenehad passengers are worried about losing their semi fasts and through branch trains from Bourne End and Henley.

Other operators^ services are assumed to be:

2 trains per hour from Reading calling at Twyford, Maidenhead, Slough and Ealing Broadway to Paddington;
1 through train from Henley on Thames to Paddington; and
1 through train from Bourne End to Paddington

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/surface/western-section/