ScotRail franchise

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

And the full text of the official announcement from Transport Scotland:

New deal to transform rail services

New trains, revamped stations and a huge range of other benefits will overhaul the ScotRail franchise.

Transport Minister Keith Brown today announced that the competition to win the single biggest contract let by the Scottish Government has been won by operator Abellio.

The company will invest millions in providing an improved service and superior facilities for passengers and a better deal for staff.

Included in the new franchise, worth up to ^6billion and launching on April 1, 2015, are measures to make train travel more attractive across the board.

There will be a break clause for the franchise after 5 years.

For passengers -
^ free wifi on all trains
^ new approach to cycling with more than 3,500 parking spaces and bike-hire at a number of stations.
^ 23% more carriages across the network,
^ reduced fares for jobseekers,
^ high-speed intercity diesel trains, with over a third more seats,
^ advance fares of ^5 between any two Scottish cities,
^ Great Scenic Railway scheme bringing more tourists to the north, the south west and the Borders,
^ major shopping developments at the stations at Aberdeen and Inverness.

For staff ^
^ a commitment to earnings of at least the living wage for all staff and subcontractors,
^ at least 100 apprenticeships,
^ guarantee of no compulsory redundancies throughout the life of the contract,
^ rail staff pensions and travel rights protected,
^ introduction of guaranteed trade union representation on every franchise Board meeting.

Announcing the new contract, Mr Brown said:

^The Scottish Government believes good public transport improves the lives of the people and the economy of Scotland. Following extensive consultation by the Scottish Government, Scotland^s railway has attracted a world leading contract to deliver for rail staff and passengers.

^We^ve already ensured that regulated rail fares will stay in line with inflation or less, and Abellio has come up with some truly innovative ways to make rail even more affordable, such as the ^5 intercity fare anywhere in Scotland and reduced ticket prices for jobseekers and those newly in work, as well as a Price Promise for guaranteed best value fares.

^There will be benefits all over the country, with faster services between all our cities, new trains in the Central Belt, a Great Scenic Railway scheme bringing more tourists to the north, the south west and the Borders and major shopping developments at the stations at Aberdeen and Inverness. Glasgow will be the new base for Abellio in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) with around 200 jobs.

^Trains will have more space for prams and wheelchairs, there will be rigorous new service quality control measures ensuring cleaner trains and improved right-time measures. We^ll see later services for concerts and events and improved integration with bus, ferry and air timetables, alongside a ^520,000 Station Travel Planning ^Plus^ programme and a Journey Companion app with door-to-door travel info, to ensure passengers can get straight from A-B.

^Every single Scottish station will have CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision) and passengers will enjoy improved waiting facilities at 40 stations, extra retail facilities at up to 50 stations, and hundreds of new car parking spaces.

^All employees including employees of subcontractors will be paid at least the living wage and a new Scottish training academy will be established.

^And for the wider community, unused station buildings will be transformed into premises for start-up businesses, locally-sourced food and drink will provide improved on-train catering, ScotRail training facilities will be available to charities free of charge and the franchisee will pay out ^500,000 every year for rail-related community schemes.

^These exciting plans mean that our railways will continue to be innovative, passenger-led and a hugely important driver in Scotland^s long-term success and sustainability.

^This is a contract that will benefit the whole of Scotland.^

[ChrisB]

How many ^5 advances I wonder - which must be a loss-maker....

^500,000 annually  for community rail-related schemes....wow.

[JayMac]

And Abellio's announcement:

Abellio is delighted to announce that it has been selected by Transport Scotland to operate the next ScotRail franchise, starting April 2015. ScotRail provides passenger train services throughout Scotland with inter-city, regional and suburban rail services across the Scottish national rail network.

Jeff Hoogesteger, CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer) of Abellio Group, said of the decision ^This is a huge day for Abellio and indeed the Netherlands which has such a rich history of commercial and cultural trade with Scotland. Abellio is delighted and incredibly excited to have been given this opportunity to manage Scotland^s national rail network."

Abellio acquires and operates public transport franchises with the aim of consolidating the position of NS in the European market as it becomes more deregulated. Abellio currently has rail and bus transport operations in Great Britain and Germany and through Qbuzz in the Netherlands.

The new ScotRail franchise will strengthen Abellio^s position in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) Rail industry. Running Scotland^s national railway is a good fit with the NS Groep core network operation in the Netherlands; the characteristics of the two networks are similar in that there is a heavily populated ^central belt^ around Edinburgh and Glasgow with less populated regional areas. With 346 stations, more than 2,000 train services a day, 800 train vehicles and 86.3m passenger journeys per annum the operation is extensive, and again similar in many ways to NS.

The franchise length is a minimum of 7 years from 1 April 2015. By mutual consent it can be extended to 10 years following a review during Year 5. Signing of the franchise agreement took place on 7th October 2014, allowing 6 months for mobilisation.

A much more detailed press release (.pdf file), listing Abellio's plans for the franchise, can be read at the following link:

http://www.abellio.com/sites/default/files/downloads/press_release_abellio_wins_scotrail_1.pdf

[ChrisB]

There will be a break clause for the franchise after 5 years

and

The franchise length is a minimum of 7 years from 1 April 2015. By mutual consent it can be extended to 10 years following a review during Year 5.

Is that the same? Two years to get out if not renewed? Seems rather long....?

[JayMac]

Porterbrook and Angel will be glad to know they have a market for the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) going off lease once the Class 800s and 801s enter service on the East Coast and Greater Western.



How happy the Scots will be with 40+ year old rolling stock is yet to be seen. Refurbishment, buffets and an improved 1st Class offering on these new Scottish InterCity services will be welcomed, I just hope the fleet reliability can be maintained. It's going to require depot expertise in HSTs across Scotland. I doubt the fleet of HSTs required can all be maintained at Edinburgh Craigentinny.

The other positive from this is the release of inter urban Class 170s and possibly some 158s. They'll no doubt be snapped up for use south of the border...

[grahame]

^500,000 annually  for community rail-related schemes....wow.

Investment in community rail has proven to have a very good payback.   It's about making the most of lines which have good services, and seats to be filled.

To be admitted to ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) as a member, the board requires you to already have a marketable service on a line that needs "putting life into" it (their strap line); the TransWilts was turned down when we applied prior to our service improvements last December, but admitted following the board meeting after the improvements, as it was then deemed "marketable".

Scotland has come late to CRPs^▸ (Community Rail Partnership) and designations and ACoRP memberships - there's the first few just come on board recently, and the Scotland team won the overall "prize of prizes" - the winner of winners - at the awards in Scarborough last week.

It's fashionable to quote BCRs^▸ (Benefit Cost Ratio) (Benefit to Cost Ratios).  well - for every pound spend on Community Rail, it's been worked out that you get ^4.20 worth or benefits - so that's a BCR or 4.2, which is pretty darned good.

Scotland has a long way to catch up on Community Rail - but some CRPs in our FGW^▸ (First Great Western) area are very well established and have brought astonishing results, so don't be surprised to see this being a growth area in other awards and franchises that may come up in the next year or so.  In the FGW area, there are those lines that can continue to grow as they have done for years, there's  one quite new CRP, and there are other lines / areas where it's being talked about, or should/could  be done.

[Rhydgaled]

Has any official release actually said "mark 3 coaches", "class 43 locomotives" or "INTERCITY 125"? Or do they just say HST^▸ (High Speed Train)? HST is a potentially ambigous term, the EU^» (European Union - about) definition of which I think is anything capable of 125mph or more.

And do they say how many carriages these 'HSTs' will have?

[paul7575]

A big deal for First to lose Scotrail with the big prize of East Coast set to be announced next month of which First stand a good chance of winning?

The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s official line will be that franchises are awarded blind, and that there is no concept of being awarded a franchise as a sort of consolation prize for recent events elsewhere, such as with FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect) or Scotrail.

Didn't National Express go from something like 9 to 1 over a period?

Paul

[JayMac]

Has any official release actually said "mark 3 coaches", "class 43 locomotives" or "INTERCITY 125"? Or do they just say HST^▸ (High Speed Train)? HST is a potentially ambigous term, the EU^» (European Union - about) definition of which I think is anything capable of 125mph or more.

And do they say how many carriages these 'HSTs' will have?

Finer details have not been released, but the ScotRail Brochure released by Transport Scotland in conjunction with the franchise announcement mentions, "Hugely popular high speed trains replacing class 170 trains between cities, with improved comfort, reliability journey times and catering", the artists impression in that brochure just happens to be Class 43+Mk3, and elsewhere it's mentioned that these high speed trains are to be refurbished.

The only off lease high speed trains on the horizon are Class 43+Mk3, so I think it's safe to assume that's what they'll be.

As for train length, that'll likely be governed by the platform length at Glasgow Queen St. Current maximum on three platforms there would be 2+5. One platform could take 2+7, the others are too short to be of any use. Queen St is however being remodelled as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), with longer platforms to be part of that remodelling. Accommodation for eight carriage EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) on four of the platforms being the stated aim. That would, I suppose, allow for 2+6 HSTs. 

A big deal for First to lose Scotrail with the big prize of East Coast set to be announced next month of which First stand a good chance of winning?

The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about)'s official line will be that franchises are awarded blind, and that there is no concept of being awarded a franchise as a sort of consolation prize for recent events elsewhere, such as with FCC^▸ (First Capital Connect) or Scotrail.

Didn't National Express go from something like 9 to 1 over a period?

Paul

They did indeed. And in just a matter of weeks First Group's number of franchises has halved.

[ChrisB]

Possibly good for the other two, as they'll be ratcheting up their offer to ensure they win these two Direct Awards....

[Network SouthEast]

Abellio have also announced that Hitachi are the preferred bidder for 70-80 electric trains for Edinburgh to Glasgow services.

Although DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) will still be needed in Scotland, it does still lead to the potential of a sizeable cascade of DMUs.

I wonder if anything (i.e. more 158s) is being lined up for the new GW^▸ (Great Western) franchise?

[Rhydgaled]

Has any official release actually said "mark 3 coaches", "class 43 locomotives" or "INTERCITY 125"? Or do they just say HST^▸ (High Speed Train)? HST is a potentially ambigous term, the EU^» (European Union - about) definition of which I think is anything capable of 125mph or more.

And do they say how many carriages these 'HSTs' will have?

Finer details have not been released, but the ScotRail Brochure released by Transport Scotland in conjunction with the franchise announcement mentions, "Hugely popular high speed trains replacing class 170 trains between cities, with improved comfort, reliability journey times and catering", the artists impression in that brochure just happens to be Class 43+Mk3, and elsewhere it's mentioned that these high speed trains are to be refurbished.

The only off lease high speed trains on the horizon are Class 43+Mk3, so I think it's safe to assume that's what they'll be.

As for train length, that'll likely be governed by the platform length at Glasgow Queen St. Current maximum on three platforms there would be 2+5. One platform could take 2+7, the others are too short to be of any use. Queen St is however being remodelled as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP), with longer platforms to be part of that remodelling. Accommodation for eight carriage EMUs^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) on four of the platforms being the stated aim. That would, I suppose, allow for 2+6 HSTs.

There were rumours that the Scottish parliment were looking at cascaded Voyagers or Meridians, and given how old the IC125s are a new use for them is supprising, so I thought I'd better check. Sounds like Abellio think there's plenty of life left in the IC125s yet, so the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) had better damn well not let any 91s or mrk4s end up on the scraphead before about 2040.

I suppose if they are to be 2+6 the acceleration of the IC125s in Scotland shouldn't be too bad, but isn't the claim of reduced journey times a bit dubious given they are geared for 125mph but will be replacing 90/100mph DMUs^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) on routes which probablly don't permitt anything more than 100mph? Sounds like standard class passengers could see better catering on ScotRail services between Edinburgh and Aberdeen/Inverness than on East Coast's London-Inverness service in future when the London trains move over to trolley-only (for standard) IEP^▸ (Intercity Express Program / Project.) units...

Abellio have also announced that Hitachi are the preferred bidder for 70-80 electric trains for Edinburgh to Glasgow services.

Although DMUs will still be needed in Scotland, it does still lead to the potential of a sizeable cascade of DMUs.

I wonder if anything (i.e. more 158s) is being lined up for the new GW^▸ (Great Western) franchise?

I would like to see more 158s for FirstGW and ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))), and 156s for ATW (for HOWL and west-of-Swansea once the wires reach that city, with ATW then losing their 153s to GW or Northern), but I doubt enough units would be cascaded.

[JayMac]

Moderator note: Topic has been renamed for present and future discussion on all things ScotRail

There were rumours that the Scottish parliment were looking at cascaded Voyagers or Meridians

Were there? I doubt such specifics for additional rolling stock for the franchise were given to the bidders. It certainly wasn't mentioned in the ITT^▸ (Invitation to Tender) that Transport Scotland wanted Class 22x stock to fulfill the role for improved inter-city operations. The ITT merely required procurement of suitable rolling stock, or utilisation of existing stock.

Abellio's bid was accepted based on their plans to procure (what I'm 99.9% certain will be the) redundant Class 43+Mk3 stock. Other bidders may have had other options, but it's doubtful Class 22x stock would have featured in their bids. None of it is due to go off lease within a suitable time frame.

None of the bidders could have entered a bid based on... "we may be able to use Meridians from late 2017 and (Virgin's) Voyagers from mid 2017 or (CrossCountry's) Voyagers from late 2019".

Abellio (and maybe other bidders) were aware that Class 43+Mk3 stock would be available during the early years of the new franchise.

[John R]

worth noting that 70 - 80 trains for EGIP means vehicles, so up to 20 x 4 car trains, which will cascade a similar number of 3 car 170s. Probably more to come as electrification heads north to Stirling/Alloa.

I doubt whether any will come FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s way, as any increase in DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) stock locally will be catered for by turbos released with electrification. Shame, as the 170s are far superior in my opinion. Though it all helps the DMU cascade and removal of pacers before 2020.

As to the question as to whether pax will buy a 40 yr + train, my perception is that if the stock is given a decent refurb then yes they will.  The improvement in ambience by not having underfloor engines is significant, and if the configuration of the interior is reduced from the high density currently seen to something akin to 170 stock (which I seem to recall is a requirement of the franchise), then with modification for automatic doors, there's no reason why passengers shouldn't.

I suspect this will only find a home for around 20 -25 HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s, but it now looks as though they will celebrate their 50th year still in service in 2026. Whilst Mk 4 stock comes close, except for the cant-friendly profile, for many people the Mk 3 shell represents the pinnacle of rolling stock design, and I for one am very pleased to see them continue in service.

[JayMac]

worth noting that 70 - 80 trains for EGIP means vehicles, so up to 20 x 4 car trains, which will cascade a similar number of 3 car 170s. Probably more to come as electrification heads north to Stirling/Alloa.

Abellio ScotRail Ltd's tender for EMU^▸ (Electric Multiple Unit) rolling stock, published in the OJEU in September 2013, was for up to 400 vehicles. That would logically include replacement for the Class 314s and possibly, toward the end of the build period, replacement of the Class 320s. And any additional stock needed for further electrification.