Yesterday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced he had requested proposals from Arriva Rail North and the Operator of Last Resort (OLR) after he said “Northern's poor performance cannot continue”.
This could lead to the franchise, operated by Arriva UK, being brought under the control of the Government.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed that it was developing contingency plans for a replacement of the current franchise with either a new “short term management contract with the current operator, or the Operator of Last Resort”.
Either option would result in the Government having a more hands on role (management contract) or being in complete control (OLR) of the current franchise.
Managing Director of the current Northern franchise, David Brown, said that the operator had faced several challenges in the last few years outside the direct control of Northern. The most significant being the “continuing late delivery of major infrastructure projects”, for example the North West electrification project, which is currently more than two years late.
Last Friday, Transport for the North said that it believes the franchise should be taken into public ownership via the OLR, who currently operate the East Coast Mainline intercity franchise LNER.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham said he is ready to work with the Transport Secretary, and that he should “accelerate plans to terminate the Northern franchise”.
The announcement comes not long after the announcement of the Williams Review, which is set to publish its findings in the next few weeks. It is expected that the current rail franchising system will be completely overhauled, which was also mentioned in the Queen's Speech at the opening of Parliament earlier on in the week.
What did the officials say?
Whilst giving evidence to the Transport Select Committee, the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said
“As a fellow long-suffering commuter, I entirely believe we cannot carry on just thinking it is OK for trains not to arrive, or Sunday services not to be in place. That has to change.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport added
“In the context of significant challenges facing the operator, such as delays to infrastructure upgrades and historic under-investment in the northern rail network, issuing a request for proposal enables the department to examine whether the contract is properly aligned with current operating challenges in the North. It also allows us to determine whether the franchise owner or an OLR would be best placed to tackle these issues and deliver for passengers.”
Northern's Managing Director, David Brown said
“It's on record that the Northern franchise has faced several material and unprecedented challenges in the past couple of years, outside the direct control of Northern. The most significant of these is the ongoing, late delivery of major infrastructure upgrades.
“These factors – alongside the damage caused by strike action and lower than expected economic growth – have had a significant effect on the revenue expected in our original franchise business plan agreed with government back in 2015.”
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