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Post by snoggle on Nov 4, 2016 14:07:39 GMT
The DfT have today announced the "West Coast Partnership" as the way forward for WCML fast services and the introduction of HS2 services. They will be seeking new consortia to both operate existing WCML inter city services from April 2019 and also to help frame the organisation of HS2 operations as well as introduce the new trains and line and operate services on both routes after 2026. Lots of fine words about innovation, emerging technology and other stuff but it's a huge potential contract that will require something very different from a traditional franchise. It almost certainly means the end for Virgin Trains on WCML services as Virgin Group don't have the requisite skills or finances to lead such a consortium. The DfT are also likely to want to see the removal of Virgin from the West Coast after years of strife with them. The DfT have also said they may use different procurement "passport" arrangements for this contract to allow other entrants to bid who would not normally bid for a standard UK rail franchise. They are also specifically suggesting multi party, multi skilled consortia are what is required for the "Partnership". Franchise announcementWest Coast PartnershipMinister's speech about franchise
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Post by snowman on Nov 4, 2016 17:04:21 GMT
The DfT have today announced the "West Coast Partnership" as the way forward for WCML fast services and the introduction of HS2 services. They will be seeking new consortia to both operate existing WCML inter city services from April 2019 and also to help frame the organisation of HS2 operations as well as introduce the new trains and line and operate services on both routes after 2026. Lots of fine words about innovation, emerging technology and other stuff but it's a huge potential contract that will require something very different from a traditional franchise. It almost certainly means the end for Virgin Trains on WCML services as Virgin Group don't have the requisite skills or finances to lead such a consortium. The DfT are also likely to want to see the removal of Virgin from the West Coast after years of strife with them. The DfT have also said they may use different procurement "passport" arrangements for this contract to allow other entrants to bid who would not normally bid for a standard UK rail franchise. They are also specifically suggesting multi party, multi skilled consortia are what is required for the "Partnership". Franchise announcementWest Coast PartnershipMinister's speech about franchiseThere is a very interesting analysis in Modern Railways magazine (page 24 November) Basically it states the problem is that the West Coast tender runs from 2018-2026 and disruption to trains (think Euston rebuild and some West Midlands track interfaces) could cost vast amounts in section 8 compensation payments. By making the replacement franchise also the shadow operator for HS2 phase1 and introducing prospect of being the Operator for phase2, sort of get neat solution.
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Post by snoggle on Nov 4, 2016 17:41:33 GMT
There is a very interesting analysis in Modern Railways magazine (page 24 November) Basically it states the problem is that the West Coast tender runs from 2018-2026 and disruption to trains (think Euston rebuild and some West Midlands track interfaces) could cost vast amounts in section 8 compensation payments. By making the replacement franchise also the shadow operator for HS2 phase1 and introducing prospect of being the Operator for phase2, sort of get neat solution. Roger Ford has been debating this for a while. Clearly the DfT are pretty desparate to get as much risk as they sensibly can off the public sector side of the equation. Whether they can afford the price tags that come forward in the bids is quite another question. The DfT has, though, tried to limit risk premimums around revenue on the ICWC and Phase 1 HS2 services. One of the huge, huge questions that the DfT refuses to answer at the present time is the fare structure that will apply to ICWC and HS2. If the operation has to generate huge surpluses to pay back the construction cost then that poses all sorts of issues for residual ICWC services. DfT will want to see as many bums on HS2 seats as at a high a fare that can be borne. This could mean making residual services deliberately unattractive and slow. However there are very considerable intermediate flows on ICWC that can't be ignored and that can't practically transfer to HS2 as things stand. There are also implications for the West Midlands and Chiltern franchises given they act as competitors to Virgin and many people like and use the different services at different fares. Of course if you price HS2 as a premium product you won't get many price sensitive passengers for many hours in the day so trains will run empty with other routes full to bursting which all rather defeats the point of building HS2 in the first place (extra capacity - if we believe the DfT!). I have to say I'm not really a fan of HS2 at all. It's a shed load of money which could very usefully be put to hundreds of other uses to improve public transport right across the country. It's not as if every single train path out of Euston and Marylebone is running the maximum length of train that can be accommodated on the routes nor is every feasible path used. If we were doing both of those things and leaving people on platforms then I'd believe we have a capacity crisis between London and the Midlands / North West. Alternatively we could have a proper rolling programme of electrification, some targeted station and line reopenings and we could add trams and greener transport in cities and towns across the UK for the tens of billions that HS2 will consume.
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Post by TNL33036 on Mar 30, 2018 20:03:32 GMT
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Post by TNL33036 on Jul 4, 2018 19:21:15 GMT
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Jan 3, 2019 15:50:25 GMT
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Post by TNL33036 on Aug 14, 2019 8:24:23 GMT
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2019 21:27:33 GMT
Virgin have made a little video to say bye after 22 years service. I will miss the service, they seemed to go the extra mile IMO.
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Post by Eastlondoner62 on Nov 21, 2019 21:46:52 GMT
Virgin have made a little video to say bye after 22 years service. I will miss the service, they seemed to go the extra mile IMO. I'll certainly miss them, probably one of the best if not the best TOC's that I've travelled with. Even worse that it's First taking over who seem to have completely made a wreck of SWR with Trenitalia in the co-pilot seat who have also made the c2c hell, a far cry from how the route used to be under National express.
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Post by ADH45258 on Nov 21, 2019 23:26:43 GMT
Virgin have made a little video to say bye after 22 years service. I will miss the service, they seemed to go the extra mile IMO. I'll certainly miss them, probably one of the best if not the best TOC's that I've travelled with. Even worse that it's First taking over who seem to have completely made a wreck of SWR with Trenitalia in the co-pilot seat who have also made the c2c hell, a far cry from how the route used to be under National express. However I think First have comparably done much better with the GWR and TPE franchises. The SWR franchise if difficult to run and may have had similar issues under SWT as well.
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Post by YY13VKP on Nov 21, 2019 23:48:55 GMT
I'll certainly miss them, probably one of the best if not the best TOC's that I've travelled with. Even worse that it's First taking over who seem to have completely made a wreck of SWR with Trenitalia in the co-pilot seat who have also made the c2c hell, a far cry from how the route used to be under National express. However I think First have comparably done much better with the GWR and TPE franchises. The SWR franchise if difficult to run and may have had similar issues under SWT as well. Sounds to me as if you've never travelled with any of these companies before, at least on a regular basis. South West Trains were brilliant, I didn't have too many issues when I had to commute using their service to and from Kingston. However when SWR took over I noticed that the service quality had dropped and there were more delays. Yes, we had the Waterloo Works in 2017 which created most of these issues but SWR have been struggling for a very long time. I never heard SWT having the same issues. Now that I live in Huddersfield and use TransPennine Express regularly, they were absolutely terrible this time last year with delays left right and centre and overcrowded trains as a result of their lack of stock and the poor infrastructure in the north which meant most stations were not able to take longer trains. A 3 car Class 185 on a busy intercity service such as Manchester Airport and Newcastle is totally unacceptable, every time you used to get one they were always rammed no matter what time of day it was. The infrastructure is still in need of improvement on the TransPennine route, particularly between Marsden and Stalybridge as following a stopping service through the Pennines would completely screw you over. There is also a lot more that needs sorting out along the TPE route such as electrification. Thankfully from last December's timetable change, things started to improve on the TPE network with fewer delays, especially after the Manchester to Leeds stoppers were split at Huddersfield and now the new Nova fleet are being introduced which brings a much needed capacity increase across the TPE network. I've only travelled on GWR once between Ealing Broadway and London Paddington but things have improved there since the introduction of their new fleet. Back to Virgin Trains, I'm really sad to see them go, they have been absolutely fantastic every time I have travelled with them. They were the only train company that went the extra mile in everything that they did, no wonder they came top of the passenger satisfaction rankings. I'm shocked that the government didn't cancel the competition for the West Coast Partnership after Failing Grayling left office subject to the Williams report. It won't be the same under First Trenitalia. I just wish Virgin Trains East Coast were still around and what might have been if they were the ones who introduced the Azumas onto the ECML instead of LNER. LNER are still a great company to travel with though. I do hope we will see Virgin Trains return again soon if they bid for another franchise.
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Post by Alex on Nov 22, 2019 1:43:46 GMT
Sounds to me as if you've never travelled with any of these companies before, at least on a regular basis. South West Trains were brilliant Yes they were, and I was really gutted to see First take over the operation. I commuted from Basingstoke to London for a fair while when living back at my mum's place, and I found SWT excellent. Really reliable, trains were well looked after and clean, guards visible at all times and a really good brand and advertising to match. One of the only bits post BR that I did like.
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Post by busaholic on Nov 22, 2019 15:10:40 GMT
However I think First have comparably done much better with the GWR and TPE franchises. The SWR franchise if difficult to run and may have had similar issues under SWT as well. Sounds to me as if you've never travelled with any of these companies before, at least on a regular basis. South West Trains were brilliant, I didn't have too many issues when I had to commute using their service to and from Kingston. However when SWR took over I noticed that the service quality had dropped and there were more delays. Yes, we had the Waterloo Works in 2017 which created most of these issues but SWR have been struggling for a very long time. I never heard SWT having the same issues. Now that I live in Huddersfield and use TransPennine Express regularly, they were absolutely terrible this time last year with delays left right and centre and overcrowded trains as a result of their lack of stock and the poor infrastructure in the north which meant most stations were not able to take longer trains. A 3 car Class 185 on a busy intercity service such as Manchester Airport and Newcastle is totally unacceptable, every time you used to get one they were always rammed no matter what time of day it was. The infrastructure is still in need of improvement on the TransPennine route, particularly between Marsden and Stalybridge as following a stopping service through the Pennines would completely screw you over. There is also a lot more that needs sorting out along the TPE route such as electrification. Thankfully from last December's timetable change, things started to improve on the TPE network with fewer delays, especially after the Manchester to Leeds stoppers were split at Huddersfield and now the new Nova fleet are being introduced which brings a much needed capacity increase across the TPE network. I've only travelled on GWR once between Ealing Broadway and London Paddington but things have improved there since the introduction of their new fleet. Back to Virgin Trains, I'm really sad to see them go, they have been absolutely fantastic every time I have travelled with them. They were the only train company that went the extra mile in everything that they did, no wonder they came top of the passenger satisfaction rankings. I'm shocked that the government didn't cancel the competition for the West Coast Partnership after Failing Grayling left office subject to the Williams report. It won't be the same under First Trenitalia. I just wish Virgin Trains East Coast were still around and what might have been if they were the ones who introduced the Azumas onto the ECML instead of LNER. LNER are still a great company to travel with though. I do hope we will see Virgin Trains return again soon if they bid for another franchise. I live at the far end of the GWR in Penzance and things haven't improved at all with the new fleet as far as Devon and Cornwall passengers are concerned, the 'electrification' aspect being of little or no use to us, the horribly uncomfortable seats for such long journeys, the abolition of a buffet and the chronic unreliability of 'tea trollies'. Bring back the HSTs!
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Post by TNL33036 on Nov 27, 2019 17:41:10 GMT
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Post by TNL33036 on Dec 6, 2019 11:33:06 GMT
Hitachi secures £350m deal to build new units for Avanti West Coast:
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