Northern franchise announcement / changes

Greybeard33 · 9 Jan 2020

js1000 said:
- Would expect official announcement next month or in March judging by what the minister said at the TfN meeting (i.e. due diligence, legal checks have to made etc)

As previously reported in post #3 of this thread, Grant Shapps made a written statement to Parliament today, which says he will announce a decision before the end of January, whether to award ARN a short term management contract or to call in OLR. Longer term decisions will await the Williams review.

I intend to announce my decision before the end of January 2020.

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/rail-update-northern-franchise

The SoS repeated the end of January commitment in a TV interview on Leeds station this evening, broadcast on Channel 4 News. But he sidestepped a question about infrastructure funding.

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Kettledrum · 10 Jan 2020

Robertj21a said:
I thought he assumed Avanti was Arriva.....

Arriva do run XC services of course which use some of the WC lines between Birmingham and Manchester

.......And we know what a success that has been

mpthomson · 10 Jan 2020

wolfman said:
Typical Tory response when all else fails blame the unions.

That's not what has happened though, as posted above. the post you quote is wrong.

Greybeard33 · 10 Jan 2020

Edit: moved to [URL="https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/castlefield-corridor-potential-solutions.197125/page-7#post-4377857"]Castlefield corridor potential solutions?[/URL]

JaJaWa · 29 Jan 2020

DfT OLR 3 [operator of last resort] renamed to Northern Trains today: https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03076444/filing-history.

Glenn1969 · 29 Jan 2020

But the same OLR was previously called EM Trains for 5 years and was never called in to run that franchise unless I am mistaken so maybe they are still keeping a watching brief. IMHO without immediate investment in Manchester area infrastructure Northern's current TSR can't ever be delivered

pdeaves · 29 Jan 2020

Glenn1969 said:
But the same OLR was previously called EM Trains for 5 years and was never called in to run that franchise

That's right. Set up ready, in case, but not necessarily a foregone conclusion that OLR will be required.

LNW-GW Joint · 29 Jan 2020

Glenn1969 said:
But the same OLR was previously called EM Trains for 5 years and was never called in to run that franchise unless I am mistaken so maybe they are still keeping a watching brief. IMHO without immediate investment in Manchester area infrastructure Northern's current TSR can't ever be delivered

I think it will go with reductions or postponements to the 2015 TSR.
It will be a long time (5 years+) before any significant infrastructure changes could be made.

quantinghome · 29 Jan 2020

LNW-GW Joint said:
I think it will go with reductions or postponements to the 2015 TSR.
It will be a long time (5 years+) before any significant infrastructure changes could be made.

Bits and pieces can be done quicker - new platforms, extended platforms, that sort of thing. But major changes take longer for sure.

Kite159 · 29 Jan 2020

Ah good, my shares in the vinyl & new uniforms companies have increased with the announcement that the trains will be getting some new vinyl and the staff getting new uniforms. :lol:

Clearly come the 1st March, there will be no more rail issues (signalling/points etc), no more holding back stoppers for late running fasts from other operators [TPE/EMR etc], the CAF stock will all of a sudden become league leaders in the fault-less tables put together by Mr Ford etc.

I suspect there will be some 'temporary' service changes to resolve some issues around Castlefield and other pinch points across the network, those changes becoming more fixed term.

thenorthern · 29 Jan 2020

Kite159 said:
Ah good, my shares in the vinyl & new uniforms companies have increased with the announcement that the trains will be getting some new vinyl and the staff getting new uniforms.

Clearly come the 1st March, there will be no more rail issues (signalling/points etc), no more holding back stoppers for late running fasts from other operators [TPE/EMR etc], the CAF stock will all of a sudden become league leaders in the fault-less tables put together by Mr Ford etc.

I would think the livery would be similar to save money.

johntea · 29 Jan 2020

The livery changes will likely extend to the dizzying heights of some nice white stickers to cover over the ‘by Arriva’ text

BigCj34 · 29 Jan 2020

thenorthern said:
I would think the livery would be similar to save money.

Is it even an Arriva copyright, or did the DfT specify it? There is nothing wrong with the branding per se, though refurbishment quality and upkeep is subpar.

Bletchleyite · 29 Jan 2020

thenorthern said:
I would think the livery would be similar to save money.

I'd predict all over white with the dark blue on the doors. Cheap and easy. Generally OLR liveries have been simple.

An interesting question (please, don't turn this into a debate on its merits, we've had that elsewhere) will be if they attempt to re-force DOO-with-OBS, as presumably with the franchise ending all agreements are null and void.

Bantamzen · 29 Jan 2020

Kite159 said:
Ah good, my shares in the vinyl & new uniforms companies have increased with the announcement that the trains will be getting some new vinyl and the staff getting new uniforms.

Clearly come the 1st March, there will be no more rail issues (signalling/points etc), no more holding back stoppers for late running fasts from other operators [TPE/EMR etc], the CAF stock will all of a sudden become league leaders in the fault-less tables put together by Mr Ford etc.

I suspect there will be some 'temporary' service changes to resolve some issues around Castlefield and other pinch points across the network, those changes becoming more fixed term.

I suspect you are right about the 'temporary' service changes, there is bound to be some cuts made so that the OLR looks slightly better than Arriva, even if they don't solve the inherent problems within & without the franchise. And it will only be a matter of time before 'temporary' becomes 'permanent'.

However Shapps' words are full of empty soundbites, lots of jam tomorrow. But the real issue is the infrastructure, his department and the previous Minister sat on the various upgrade recommendations for Greater Manchester & Yorkshire for years. Never mind throwing the pledged £500M at some quaint abandoned line, get that money moving to supplement these many long overdue projects, and get it moving ASAP. Nothing less will be effective, short of driving people back onto the roads by slashing and cutting to massage the performance figures.

Carlisle · 29 Jan 2020

BigCj34 said:
Is it even an Arriva copyright, or did the DfT specify it? There is nothing wrong with the branding per se, though refurbishment quality and upkeep is subpar.

Wasn’t it stated on here at the start of the franchise both sides had essentially agreed on a simple straightforward livery.

Northern franchise announcement / changes

Greybeard33

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