British operator LSER gets £23.5 million penalty
Following a breach of its franchise agreement, London & South Eastern Railway Limited (LSER) has been issued with a penalty of 28 million euros (23.5 million pounds) by…
UK government strips Southeastern of franchise and takes over
The UK government takes over rail operations from operator Southeastern from 17 October 2021, after a serious breach of the franchise agreement’s “good faith” obligation was identified relating…
UK ends franchising system for passenger trains
The UK government has announced this morning that it will support the passenger network for at least the next 18 months. This means that it is officially renationalising…
New landmark for UK’s publicly-owned train operator
Instead of launching the announced public private partnership on the East Coast Main Line, UK’s government has acted otherwise. It extended the Direct Award for London North Eastern…
VR Group wins 10-year franchise for Helsinki S-Bahn
Finnish railway company VR Group has won the first open competition for operating S-Bahn-like train connections in Greater Helsinki. It will run these services in the following 10…
UK government prolongs two rail franchises
Despite the rumours on the possible cancellation of the franchising system for railways, the UK government does otherwise. It has awarded two operating companies with the new contracts…
Britain suspends rail franchises due to coronavirus
An unprecedented upheaval has been occurred on Monday, 23 March, for the British rail sector. The numerous experts have been talking about its renationalisation for many years. And…
Second public-sector train operator in Britain
In less than two years after the InterCity East Coast franchise has been taken over by the UK government, a similar story did happen again on another regional…
Arriva loses franchise in Northern England
Arriva UK Trains will lose the rail franchise in Northern England five years ahead of schedule. The UK government will take Northern, the troubled train operator, under its…
Magic circle of rail franchise in UK
It’s a month since the UK’s newborn and veteran train operators have declared their inspiring plans for the future. Some companies even managed to report fewer quick wins.…
Abellio loses ScotRail franchise in UK
The Dutch-owned train operator is to be ousted from its franchise contract in Scotland. It will be removed at the first break clause, in March 2022, said Transport…
UK waves goodbye to Virgin Trains
United Kingdom has waved goodbye to Virgin Trains. The railway operator has been operating on the West Coast Main Line for over 22 years. It was the UK’s…
Keolis loses contract for Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn service
German transport authority VRR covering the Rhine-Ruhr conurbation has prematurely broken off a contract with Eurobahn, a subsidiary of Keolis. It was expected that the railway operator will…
Consortium of FirstGroup and Trenitalia gets West Coast franchise
The consortium of FirstGroup and Trenitalia has obtained the InterCity West Coast franchise in the UK. Starting from 8 December, West Coast Rail, a joint venture of both…
Abellio replaces Stagecoach in East Midlands
The Dutch-owned transport company Abellio has replaced the UK-based Stagecoach Group in running the East Midlands rail franchise. Since 18 August East Midlands Railway (EMR), a subsidiary of…