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Coronavirus: Rail Franchise Franchise Agreements Suspended for 6 Months

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One off the press in the past few minutes - all rail franchise agreements suspended for 6 months, with the cost and risk transferred to DfT.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/...s-for-passengers-with-rail-emergency-measures

The government is taking emergency measures to support and sustain necessary rail services as operators face significant drops in their income.

The Department for Transport will temporarily suspend normal franchise agreements and transfer all revenue and cost risk to the government for a limited period, initially 6 months. Operators will continue to run services day-to-day for a small predetermined management fee. Terms and conditions of employment for rail workers will not change.

This will allow us to ensure that trains necessary for key workers and essential travel continue to operate. No other passengers should travel. As we have already announced, services will be reduced from today (23 March 2020).

Anyone holding an advance ticket will be able to refund it free of charge. All season ticket holders can claim a refund for time unused on their tickets free of administrative charges. Ticket holders should contact their operator for details.
 
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Djgr

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and realistically forever, I would have thought.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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That is Steve's problem!
Just as LO and TfL rail are Sadiq's

Concessions are close to management contracts anyway.
Like the NHS situation, administration is devolved but I'm sure they will take their lead from DfT and HMG in a national crisis.
We've heard very little lately from the independence brigades.
Among other things, the budgets will be controlled centrally - the devolved administrations can't print money like Westminster can.
 

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jamesst

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Concessions are close to management contracts anyway.
Like the NHS situation, administration is devolved but I'm sure they will take their lead from DfT and HMG in a national crisis.
We've heard very little lately from the independence brigades.
Among other things, the budgets will be controlled centrally - the devolved administrations can't print money like Westminster can.

Good. If I'm a member of staff or passenger for LO,TFL, Merseyrail etc I'd want to know in the current situation that I'd have the same protection as if I was in West Midlands area for example.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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In effect, DfT has "renationalised" the railway for 6 months, much as it did during the world wars when the private companies got a fee for running the trains.
Presumably this supersedes the franchise agreements about to expire (South Eastern, GWR etc).
Effectively the incumbents have a short-term management contract for a 2% fee.
Whether they ever return as real franchises is anybody's guess I suppose.
It will probably disrupt the delivery/introduction of new train fleets.
The DfT won't be spending much time on the Williams review for a while.
Buying up stakes in UK airlines is probably next.
 

WesternLancer

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When will the Railway Executive Comittee be re-established? Probably quite soon...
 

HowardGWR

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I have wondered why Shapps has not said anything about the buses - yet. It surely must be as disastrous for them and many pax will normally use both methods to get to work?
 

kylemore

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I have wondered why Shapps has not said anything about the buses - yet. It surely must be as disastrous for them and many pax will normally use both methods to get to work?
Yes I was thinking that as well, and will anything be done where there is needless duplication between rail services and express buses?

Apologies to mods if this is regarded as speculation - the situation is so fast moving it is not possible to avoid some degree of speculation in most comments - I understand you would wish to avoid needless alarmism of course.
 

Jackoref

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Good news re refunds on advance tickets too. A sensible move.

Anyone have any idea whether this will apply to advance tickets bought through non-TOC retailers (Trainsplit in my case). It says that this has been agreed with TOCs, but no mention of whether others have been considered.
 

Nicholas Lewis

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I have wondered why Shapps has not said anything about the buses - yet. It surely must be as disastrous for them and many pax will normally use both methods to get to work?
Buses are subsidised by local councils albeit off grants from Dept of Transport and farebox income is low percentage in rural areas so i guess each area will need to at least cover basic operating costs and go back to DoT for more the difference.
 

Meerkat

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I have wondered why Shapps has not said anything about the buses - yet. It surely must be as disastrous for them and many pax will normally use both methods to get to work?
One reason might well be “they’re working on it”.
Switching franchises to management contracts is nearly an off the shelf process with plenty of precedents.
Trying to do the same for buses, a very different set up, must be an order of magnitude harder to organise.
 

Nicholas Lewis

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Praying they do something for Open Access
They don't have FA so all they can do is seek a government loan to tide them over. Also i would be going to there stock lessors and saying we need 6mths rent free otherwise our business model is bust and you can have the stock back and see what you can get for it!
 

tonysk14

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They don't have FA so all they can do is seek a government loan to tide them over. Also i would be going to there stock lessors and saying we need 6mths rent free otherwise our business model is bust and you can have the stock back and see what you can get for it!

I presume this means no Grand Central Blackpool - Euston services. Not that there would be anybody on them.
 

Tom B

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So who are the staff now employed by, The TOC’s or the Government?

The TOC still - it is merely the relationship between the TOC and the government which is different.

It would take some considerable time to TUPE that many staff to the government.
 

WesternLancer

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Buses are subsidised by local councils albeit off grants from Dept of Transport and farebox income is low percentage in rural areas so i guess each area will need to at least cover basic operating costs and go back to DoT for more the difference.
yes, with very few bus routes not commercial it would be poss for the operators to just pull routes with little notice and leave no other option for people I suspect.
I suspect govt would then have to pay to local authorities to use their existing powers to provide subsidized non commercial routes.
Another step the govt will not be keen on taking but may become inevitable.

My local operator has gone down to Saturday service and going down to Sunday service as of next week.
 

Skie

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All season ticket holders can claim a refund for time unused on their tickets free of administrative charges.

What does that mean in practice? Merseyrail current refund is to calculate what your ticket so far would have cost had you bigger a ticket each day, and then give you the remaining. Which seems a tad unfair, surely 365.25/£cost - days from purchase would be fairer. 50% of the cost of the season ticket back if refunded halfway through, instead of barely a quarter.

Or allow people to pause them and resume them once the crisis is over.
 

kieron

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Good. If I'm a member of staff or passenger for LO,TFL, Merseyrail etc I'd want to know in the current situation that I'd have the same protection as if I was in West Midlands area for example.
Which protections do you mean here? There's a bit of information about cancelling a season ticket or an advance ticket, but that's all I can see which will affect a customer directly.

I would not be surprised if the "all train operators" in the press release actually meant "all train operators which operate under franchises let by the DfT", in which case the announcement may not mean anything much for Merseyrail.
 

JammyJames08

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How does this affect the southeastern franchise? We were due either a direct award or government control anyway from 1st April
 
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