Twenty-two year rail franchises?

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that future rail franchises will be for a minimum of ten years and could have a maximum term of twenty-two years, in return for additional investment – this revised policy marks a considerable change from the current franchise lengths of seven or eight years. The DfT stated that there will also be higher penalties for franchisees who fail to meet commitments. The new franchise agreements will offer more scope for innovation and stronger incentives for improving operating performance and maximising passenger growth. It is proposed that the existing ‘cap and collar’ financial mechanism should, in future, be linked to fluctuations in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and employment levels.

Train Operating Companies ‘beat the snow’

Network Rail has released the national train punctuality and reliability data for the four weeks ended 9 January 2010, which covers most of the recent period of severe weather conditions, which revealed that 80.0 per cent of trains arrived ‘on time’ (which can include delays of less than five or ten minutes, dependent on the type of service) – the punctuality data for the four train operating companies serving the South West of England for this four week period was as follows:-

Arriva CrossCountry: 77.0 per cent (13th out of 19)

Arriva Trains Wales: 90.4 per cent (3rd out of 19)

First Great Western: 85.9 per cent (7th out of 19)

South West Trains: 82.2 per cent (9th out of 19)

The punctuality data for the four train operating companies serving the South West of England for the year ended 9 January 2010 was as follows:-

Arriva CrossCountry: 90.5 per cent (12th out of 19)

Arriva Trains Wales: 94.8 per cent (4th out of 19)

First Great Western: 92.1 per cent (8th out of 19)

South West Trains: 92.8 per cent (5th out of 19)

First Great Western to refurbish trains

First Great Western has announced it is investing more than eight million pounds to improve its fleet of commuter trains which operate between Bedwyn, Wiltshire and London Paddington via Reading – the budget for this work has been increased by two million pounds to incorporate improvements proposed by customers. The refurbishment programme will include the installation of a GPS-linked public address and customer information system to improve the accuracy and clarity of journey information for customers, an upgrade of the toilet system to deliver more reliable operation, Upgraded air-conditioning and new carpets, refreshed seats, overhead racks and repainted interiors. It is expected that these particular trains will be cascaded to the South West of England following the electrification of the railway lines between London, Newbury and Oxford.

Awards for First Great Western and South West Trains

First Great Western and South West Trains have both been recognised at the inaugural ‘Modern Railways Golden Whistle Awards’ – First Great Western won the golden whistle for the most improved operational performance in 2009 and a silver whistle for finishing second in the most improved operational delivery category, while South West Trains won the golden whistle for the best operational delivery (based on the results of the national passenger survey which is conducted by Passenger Focus).

Award for Plymouth Citybus

Plymouth Citybus has won an award from GoSkills, the sector skills council for public transport, for finishing first in the large company category for the quality of training offered to make a difference both to members of staff and to the overall performance of the operator – Plymouth Citybus was particularly commended for the driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training and the provision of National Vocational Qualification (NFVQ) level two and three programmes.

And finally,

The First Great Western ‘Journey Check’ and ‘Live Updates’ web pages recently advised customers that a train from Great Malvern to London Paddington via Moreton-in-Marsh would be formed of forty-eight carriages!