TfL tears up PFI Oyster Card agreement


TfL has bought the


rights to the Oyster brand for £1m


‘The new contract removes the complex PFI structure, which is no longer necessary’


information, gates and electronics for ticketing and fare collection. TranSys will continue to retain advertising rights on ticket gatelines and ticketing media until March 2015.


Shashi Verma, director of fares by Katie Silvester


Transport for London has ended a PFI agreement for its Oyster Card system, replacing it with a direct contract with ticketing system manufacturer Cubic Transportation Systems and saving £30m. The PFI agreement, known as Prestige, was with a consortium called TranSys, whose principal


partners were Cubic and HP Enterprise services. The agreement was signed in 1998 and was due to run until 2015, but TfL exercised a break clause in the contract as part of an efficiency drive. Under the terms of the new


agreement, called the Future Ticketing Agreement (FTA), Cubic will be the prime contractor for revenue services, ticketing,


EU air quality restrictions ‘threaten rail freight’


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New EU regulations on air quality have sounded alarm


bells for the Freight Transport Association (FTA), as they would require modifications to the engines of freight locomotives, which will not work with existing designs. The NRMM Directive applies to new power units, but could also apply to life-extended existing units. For example, the popular Class 66 locomotive, which is built by General Motors in the USA, could not accommodate an NRMM-compliant power unit as it would make the unit too big for Britain’s loading gauge. And, says the FTA, there is no guarantee that General Motors


would be interested in building a new version, as its primary market is the US, the Class 66 having been adapted from an American model. Chris McRae, FTA’s manager of rail freight policy, said: ‘Anxiety levels have been raised even higher by the reported concerns of major European locomotive and passenger train builders – Bombardier, Vossloh and Voith – about building to these exacting new standards. ‘If manufacturers are not making locomotives then it doesn’t matter how much new business freight operating companies win, they just won’t have the necessary capacity. ’ The regulations are due to become law from the end of 2011.


and ticketing at TfL, said: ‘We are pleased that these new arrangements are now fully in place with Cubic. The new contract removes the complex PFI structure, which is no longer necessary, and creates a more streamlined structure which will bring increased value and service improvements, benefiting travellers in London.’ Under the original agreement,


TranSys took on £190m of debt, which was to be paid off over the term of the 17-year PFI contract. TfL repaid the debt early, saving £4m in interest payments.


News in brief


Scottish electrification contracts awarded


Network Rail has awarded the first contracts in a £1bn programme to improve rail services and infrastructure in Scotland’s central belt. Carillion will begin a £6m project this month on electrification of lines through a tunnel near Edinburgh. Amey Infrastructure, Atkins and Delta Rail have also been awarded design and development contracts.


Invensys gets Thameslink resignalling contract


The Thameslink resignalling contract has been awarded to Invensys Rail by Network Rail. Invensys will be responsible for the design, manufacture, installation, testing and commissioning of the signalling system in the £32m core area project.


TQ buys Catalis


TQ Education and Training has acquired Catalis Rail Training from administrators Mazars, after the Derby-based company went out of business. The move has saved 25 jobs.


Aecom acquires Tritech


DRS begins trials of new high cube wagons


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Trials have begun to re-route some of P&O Ferrymasters’ freight from the east coast to the west coast, using a new type of wagon. Direct Rail Services (DRS) is using Class 66 locomotives to haul the wagons, which give gauge clearance for high cube containers on the cross country services. Wim Blomme, director of


the intermodal division at P&O Ferrymasters, said: ‘Our partnership with DRS has allowed us, for the first time ever, to move freight in the UK ,offering our customers a huge carbon footprint reduction.’ These two-stage trials form part of a wider project for DRS to look at ways of accommodating the popular high cube containers within the British loading gauge. Using conventional wagons, the containers would hit platforms and bridges.


Transport consultancy Aecom has acquired the trading interests of Tritech Rail – a UK- based supplier of rail services, specialising in areas from infrastructure surveying and design to electrification. The Lancashire firm was founded in 1999 as a permanent-way engineering consultancy.


DBS contract ‘not anti- competitive’


The Office of Rail Regulation has found no evidence of anti- competitive pricing on the part of DB Schenker in relation to a contract for rail haulage of petroleum products, following a complaint. The ORR said that the pricing for the contract was not anti-competitive nor was it part of an anti-competitive strategy.


SEPTEMBER 2010 PAGE 11


© Transport for London


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