Franchising
National Express had agreed to pay £1.3 billion under the original franchise, but passenger revenues were hit by the recession. Talks with the DfT about easing the terms of the deal came to nothing.
DOR paid about £600m to the Exchequer, much less than Stagecoach promised, but much more than it delivered
After the Minister’s statement, I asked him: ‘By deciding to re-franchise the East Coast Main Line in the future we risk not being able to judge whether the public sector or private sector is best for the passenger, the tax payer and the railways. Surely as a minimum we ought to allow Directly Operated Railways to bid to run the franchise?’
He rejected my plea, saying: ‘That is not the case—Directly Operated Railways is not a company in its own right; it is a company owned by the Department for Transport. We will certainly be able to see how the companies are doing. The process will be open. I have already seen reports, although I have not had it confirmed, that Virgin will put in a bid for the East Coast Main Line, and a lot of people
‘It appears that the Secretary of State is opposing a state run service on ideological grounds, and not based on evidence. He should be supporting what works best. We could learn from some of our successful neighbours in Europe, like Germany and Holland’
were very happy with the service they received on the West Coast Main Line.
Learn from Europe
It appears that the Secretary of State is opposing a state run service on ideological grounds, and not based on evidence. He should be supporting what works best. We could learn from some of our successful neighbours in Europe,
like Germany and Holland. Both have a more devolved decision making process, which means a more integrated service than the UK.
The biggest railway company in Germany is Deutsche Bahn, which is Germany’s state run railway company, and Arriva’s parent company. German Intercity routes are open to competition, but Deutsche Bahn’s dominance in the market scares off other providers. So I wouldn’t want a system that gave one public, or private, provider, that kind of dominance in the market.
I am not ideologically wedded, or opposed to rail franchises. It is clear that in some cases they have delivered. But without a public sector comparator, how can we tell what is the most cost- effective way of providing the rail network of the future?
The jury is still out on whether the franchise system can be transparent, give a good quality service to train users, and minimise the cost to the taxpayer.
For more information on John and his work visit his website at
www.john-leech.co.uk/en/
MIKE WORBY SURVEY CONSULTANCY
Chartered Land and Engineering Surveyors and Geospatial Consultants measuring , modelling and mapping the
Railway Environment Our Services include:-
Dual Frequency GPS Topographic Surveys
Engineering Surveys and Setting Out Track and Structural Monitoring 3d Modelling and Design
Measured Building Surveys
3d Laser Scanning Boundary Matters
Expert Witness Reports Geospatial Consultancy We are members of
Contact:- Michael Worby Mob :- +44(0)7767 456196 tel/fax:- +44(0)1707 333677 Email :-
survey@mw-sc.co.uk Website:-
www.mw-sc.co.uk
Page 54 May 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124