NEWS
FGW franchise in doubt as revenue targets missed
‘Alarm bells’ for freight industry over McNulty review
The viability of the First Great Western (FGW) franchise is in doubt and could lead to it being abandoned three years early, re- ports say.
FirstGroup is reported to be con- sidering handing back the con- tract because of the economic downturn and delays in the intro- duction of new rolling stock.
FGW has a unique ‘break clause’ in the contract allowing it to ter- minate in 2013, saving it £826.6m in payments to the Government.
Revenue targets are being missed on its London-to-Swansea and London-to-Oxford lines and routes throughout south-west England.
New intercity trains will also not now arrive until 2016, and Crossrail will cause disruption at many stations served by FGW.
The company said: “We have to make a decision before the end of the year as to whether we are going to exercise our contractual right to extend the FGW franchise to March 2016.”
Network Rail called in for questioning by ORR
Network Rail missed perform- ance targets partly because of the winter weather – but it was al- ready slipping by autumn. Its sen- ior management were called in by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to explain the poor performance. The latest Network Rail monitor (for the third quarter, covering October 17 to January 8 2011), which provides an overview of the company’s most recent perform- ance, confirms it will miss regula- tory requirements covering punc- tuality, delays and cancellations. ORR chief executive Bill Emery said: “Recent performance has not been good enough.”
Rail freight has been classed a ‘secondary user’ of the network, prompting fears that the coming value-for-money review will start charging much higher fixed-cost prices for track access.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) said ‘alarm bells were sound- ing’, after a workshop organised as part of the Sir Roy McNulty Rail Value for Money industry review classified freight as ‘secondary’.
Chris MacRae, FTA’s rail freight policy manager, who attended the industry workshop in March, said: “With McNulty’s report due in lit- tle over a month, it is crucial that
rail freight’s needs are not ignored. While changes to the running of the UK’s railways are necessary for the future of the rail industry – with rail costs over 20% higher here than elsewhere in Europe – the importance of rail freight to the economy is not something we can afford to underestimate.
“The growth in rail freight that the logistics industry believes is pos- sible will depend on the rail net- work’s ability to provide a high quality service.”
He said he was worried that ‘mar- ginal’ track access charges paid by rail freight as a minority user
of the network may change to a much higher ‘fixed’ cost price.
Like the Rail Freight Group, the FTA is also concerned about pro- posals by the passenger side of the industry for more vertical inte- gration, which could marginalise the interests of the freight opera- tors.
MacRae concluded: “Rail freight’s future is vital to the aim of a de- carbonised transport system, but if companies that currently use road are unable to get the access and service quality they require, they will think again about putting goods on to rail.”
New section of ‘orbital railway’ opens in the capital
A rail extension linking east and north London has been complet- ed three months early, forming part of an ‘orbital railway’ for the capital. The £50m, 1.3 mile sec- tion extends the East London Line section of the London Overground network north from Dalston Junction to Highbury & Islington. Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “We are piecing together a rail version of the M25 in the capi- tal, an orbital rail link that is mak- ing it vastly easier for millions of Londoners to whizz from one side of the city to another.
“This relatively short stretch of track will link three sides of the
6 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 11
city and mean people can scoot around the edges of the capital on fast, reliable rail connections with- out needing to head into central London. Our engineers have per- formed marvels to complete their work three months early.”
The refurbished East London Line,
now part of London Overground, has been carrying 70,000 passen- gers a day since it re-opened last May. This is now expected to rise to 100,000. The final part of the ex- tension, due to open next year, will link Clapham Junction to Dalston Junction via Surrey Quays, com- pleting the orbital loop.
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