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 to 25 million pounds. Transport Secretary Grant...Read more
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 the railways, doing away with the franchising...Read more
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 Railway (LNER), a publicly-owned train operator, for...Read more
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 years starting from June 2021. In addition,...Read more
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 by prolonging the existing franchises. This extraordinary...Read more
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 now it has happened. At least, partially...Read more
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 network. This time the Department for Transport...Read more
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 control from 1 March 2020 instead of...Read more
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. On the other hand, at least six...Read more
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 Minister Michael Matheson in a statement to...Read more
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 last railway enterprise owned by business magnate...Read more
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 start to provide train service on two...Read more
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 companies, will start its operations on the...Read more