CrossCountry Franchise Competition "Will Not Proceed"

[whole diary]

[CMRail]

Is anyone bidding for the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) franchise though? I see ya being with First for a long time..

[grahame]

Is anyone bidding for the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) franchise though? I see ya being with First for a long time..

There is a direct award from 2019 to 2020, probably another direct award from 2020 to 2022 and it's more likely that not that will extend to 2024, on the basis of "let the people who are there handle things through the rest of the modernisation program rather than looking at bidding for and handing over in the middle".

For bids to run services from 2022 to 2024, it's really too early to know who might bid; for sure a number of organisations may have one eye on the area, but I'm sure none of them will go much further than than in the next six months.

[mjones]

Short term I would love HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) to run around the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) network but long term I think they will go for some 802s when necessary.

I also don't mind Voyagers formed trains running around the network, as long as many of them are 8, 9 or 10 car ones, which as we know they currently aren't.  If a HST conversion of a dozen or so extra trains means a dozen or so daily voyager diagrams can become formed of two units then that would at least be a start.

The 222 Meridians are Voyagers in another guise, current Voyages could quite possibly be re-formed into 8, 9 or 10 cars with re-configuring the trains software but that would leave the ROSCO^» (Rolling Stock Owning Company - about) owning them with a surfeit of driving cars which I suppose could be paired up to produce a (tongue in cheek) 2-car 153, ideal for the Looe branch in winter and 2 x 2-car 153's on the St Ives branch in summer.

Could pairs of driving cars have the cabs removed and replaced with a corridor?

[martyjon]

Could pairs of driving cars have the cabs removed and replaced with a corridor?

Ahh, that would mean spending megabucks and oooos gonna pay !!!!

[eightonedee]

Surely what is needed is a better match between capacity and demand?

My experience as a user of the Brimingham/Oxford/Reading/Southampton arm of their network for trips to Birmingham and the North does not seem as bad as the experiences of what I assume are forum members from the south west. XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) also runs to Stanstead using (I think) either 170 or 172 diesel units. On the journeys I take, the main "problem" is that trains get crowded at peak times around Birmingham, when understandably Birmingham commuters to surrounding towns on the network use XC trains as part of the capacity available to them in rush hour. I expect that this is partly because some on our side of the network don't realise that XC exists, and assume you have to go north via London, or if they know about XC they decide (once you get to the point where it is quicker to go via London) that they would rather have the speed of crossing London than the convenience of being able to stay on one train.

Presumably on the south west leg, the further west you get (beyond Swindon?) most passengers assume you go north via Birmingham, so most go via XC. My (very) limited experience of XC in the south west is that on the Penzance/Plymouth/Exeter/Bristol axis, the trains are part and parcel of the general Inter City service, so their trains seem as heavily used as GW^▸ (Great Western) trains.

Leasing some of the redundant HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) clearly could help with capacity issues, but I worry about the age of the stock. Will we see "happy 50th birthday HST" specials running while they are still in daily service in eight years' time?  Is it cost effective to upgrade them for five years service? Presumably leasing costs reflect the fact that the original capital cost has long since been defrayed, so does this mean it is? If they are not going to be capable of giving reliable service in their old age then they are not the answer, but if they can boost capacity in the short term, and enable XC to redeploy the remainder of their fleet to increase capacity and even encourage more to use their services, I think most would live with them (as, after all, inter city travelers in Scotland and the south west will have to as well).

[CyclingSid]

There is a certain lack of flexibility, not limited to XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)). It would help if XC spoke to Southampton Ports, when there is a cruise ship leaving the trains tend to be like cattle trucks from Reading to Southampton. Can't be a surprise, port berths are probably booked 6 to  12 months in advance, so an extra set tacked on for those days would be helpful.

Also a nit pick, a couple of years ago going to Oxford in  heatwave the XC was like a furnace. I asked the TM^‡(resolve) if the air con could be adjusted, No Sir that can only be done at Derby. Was I being wound up, or lack of staff training (not in winding people up).

[IndustryInsider]

Also a nit pick, a couple of years ago going to Oxford in  heatwave the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) was like a furnace. I asked the TM^‡(resolve) if the air con could be adjusted, No Sir that can only be done at Derby. Was I being wound up, or lack of staff training (not in winding people up).

Depends on why it was a furnace I suppose.  A faulty thermostat or other serious fault would need to be done at Central Rivers, a more minor fault such as a tripped MCB^▸ (Miniature Circuit Breaker) could probably be resolved by the TM.  Voyager air-con, whilst not perfect, is fairly reliable in my experience.

[grahame]

There is a certain lack of flexibility, not limited to XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)). It would help if XC spoke to Southampton Ports, when there is a cruise ship leaving the trains tend to be like cattle trucks from Reading to Southampton. Can't be a surprise, port berths are probably booked 6 to  12 months in advance, so an extra set tacked on for those days would be helpful.

Pretty much daily - here's an example I found looking back - a little quieter in the winter (as some ships are elsewhere and others on 28 day Carribean round trips)

Code:

Southampton	1-May-2018	Royal Princess	Princess Cruises	05:00 - 17:00
Southampton	2-May-2018	Queen Victoria	Cunard Line	n/a
Southampton	2-May-2018	P&O Aurora	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	2-May-2018	Mein Schiff 3	TUI▸  (Touristik Union International. Also known as TUI Group - ) Cruises	07:00 - 20:00
Southampton	4-May-2018	Norwegian Jade	NCL	08:00-17:00
Southampton	4-May-2018	P&O Arcadia	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	4-May-2018	P&O Ventura	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	5-May-2018	Queen Victoria	Cunard Line	n/a
Southampton	5-May-2018	ms Zuiderdam	HAL	08:00 - 23:00
Southampton	5-May-2018	Sapphire Princess	Princess Cruises	07:00-18:00
Southampton	6-May-2018	Braemar	Fred. Olsenn	n/a
Southampton	6-May-2018	P&O Azura	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	6-May-2018	Navigator Of The Seas	Royal Caribbean	05:30
Southampton	7-May-2018	AIDAperla	AIDA Cruises	09:30-21:30
Southampton	7-May-2018	Celebrity Silhouette	Celebrity Cruises	06:00-16:00
Southampton	8-May-2018	MSC Meraviglia	MSC Cruises	08:00 - 20:00
Southampton	8-May-2018	P&O Oriana	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	10-May-2018	Queen Elizabeth	Cunard Line	n/a
Southampton	10-May-2018	Queen Mary 2	Cunard Line	n/a
Southampton	11-May-2018	P&O Arcadia	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	11-May-2018	P&O Britannia 	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	11-May-2018	P&O Ventura	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	12-May-2018	Queen Victoria	Cunard Line	n/a
Southampton	12-May-2018	Sapphire Princess	Princess Cruises	07:00-18:00
Southampton	13-May-2018	P&O Britannia 	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	13-May-2018	Royal Princess	Princess Cruises	n/a
Southampton	13-May-2018	Navigator Of The Seas	Royal Caribbean	16:30
Southampton	14-May-2018	AIDAperla	AIDA Cruises	09:30-21:30
Southampton	14-May-2018	MSC Magnifica	MSC Cruises	08:00 - 20:00
Southampton	14-May-2018	Mein Schiff 3	TUI Cruises	07:00 - 20:00
Southampton	15-May-2018	Independence Of The Seas	Royal Caribbean	05:30-16:30
Southampton	16-May-2018	Braemar	Fred. Olsenn	n/a
Southampton	16-May-2018	Norwegian Jade	NCL	08:00-17:00
Southampton	16-May-2018	P&O Aurora	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	17-May-2018	Independence Of The Seas	Royal Caribbean	05:30-16:30
Southampton	18-May-2018	Marella Discovery	Marella Cruises	06:00-19:00
Southampton	19-May-2018	Celebrity Silhouette	Celebrity Cruises	06:00-16:00
Southampton	19-May-2018	P&O Aurora	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	19-May-2018	P&O Azura	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	20-May-2018	P&O Britannia 	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	20-May-2018	Independence Of The Seas	Royal Caribbean	05:30-16:30
Southampton	21-May-2018	AIDAperla	AIDA Cruises	09:30-21:30
Southampton	23-May-2018	Oceania Marina	Oceania Cruises	07:00-17:00
Southampton	23-May-2018	P&O Oriana	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	24-May-2018	Queen Elizabeth	Cunard Line	n/a
Southampton	24-May-2018	Queen Mary 2	Cunard Line	n/a
Southampton	24-May-2018	Braemar	Fred. Olsenn	n/a
Southampton	24-May-2018	MSC Magnifica	MSC Cruises	08:00 - 20:00
Southampton	25-May-2018	Queen Victoria	Cunard Line	n/a
Southampton	25-May-2018	Norwegian Jade	NCL	08:00-17:00
Southampton	25-May-2018	P&O Ventura	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	25-May-2018	Royal Princess	Princess Cruises	n/a
Southampton	26-May-2018	Celebrity Silhouette	Celebrity Cruises	06:00-16:00
Southampton	26-May-2018	P&O Azura	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	26-May-2018	Sapphire Princess	Princess Cruises	07:00-18:00
Southampton	26-May-2018	Mein Schiff 3	TUI Cruises	07:00 - 20:00
Southampton	27-May-2018	P&O Britannia 	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	27-May-2018	P&O Ventura	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	27-May-2018	Navigator Of The Seas	Royal Caribbean	05:30
Southampton	28-May-2018	AIDAperla	AIDA Cruises	09:30-21:30
Southampton	28-May-2018	P&O Arcadia	P&O Cruises	n/a
Southampton	28-May-2018	Independence Of The Seas	Royal Caribbean	05:30-16:30
Southampton	29-May-2018	Braemar	Fred. Olsenn	n/a
Southampton	31-May-2018	Seven Seas Explorer	Regent Seven Seas	n/a

The cruise companies work with bus / coach operators to offer transfers from people's home areas to their ship. Perhaps they could work with Cross Country and provide a transfer from the station to the ships and vice versa for specific trains that are strengthened on a daily basis.  Perhaps Cross Country could even offer a railcard-style incentive for cruise passengers to encourage those who don't use trains often to try them for the cruise ... to love the trains and use them more when they get back.

[eightonedee]

Here's a thought - a daily boat train from Southampton to the Midlands made up of upgraded HST^▸ (High Speed Train) stock, or perhaps just putting two Voyagers together to provide adequate seats.

As regards a/c problems, I have not encountered any so far (in contrast to the poor/ineffective system on Turbos), but if the normally reliable systems on SW's Siemens trains fail in summer they soon become like furnaces too. Presumably it's the lack of opening windows for emergency ventilation as on Turbos, which are often used! 

[Lee]

From RAIL Magazine:

Reducing overcrowding will be a key priority for the CrossCountry franchise, according to Baroness Sugg, although she has offered no indication as to how this would be achieved.

She made the claim in a House of Lords Written Reply on October 22, having been asked by Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat) what steps would be taken by Government to reduce overcrowding on the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) network now that bidding for the franchise has been cancelled (RAIL 861).

“Reducing overcrowding will be a key priority as we consider future options for the franchise,” said Sugg.

“The Department will consider rolling stock and train service options that will reduce overcrowding, but it is too early, at present, to say what the detail of that will be.”

It was confirmed in mid-October that the XC franchise currently operated by Arriva could be extended by five years (RAIL 864).

XC uses four-car and five-car Class 220/221s on long-distance services, as well as two-car and three-car Class 170s on inter-regional routes such as Cardiff-Nottingham and Birmingham New Street-Stansted Airport.

When Arriva took over the franchise in November 2007, it introduced five High Speed Trains to help tackle overcrowding on long-distance routes, although usually there are only three per day in traffic.

[grahame]

I am understanding that a direct award extension to Arriva for Cross Country trains from October to October next year is a "stand still" one - with no extra rolling stock and no extra stops apart from the planned ones on the Nottingham trains when Worcestershire Parkway opens.    Single source at present - confirmation welcome.   

Suggest it's a do-nothing decision made to wait the outcome of the Williams review. Seems sad with such dire overcrowding on some services when there are just over a dozen HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) laid up not carrying any passengers.