"Eurostar bids for East Coast Main Line franchise"

[Cletus]

Eurostar bids for East Coast Main Line franchise

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24330881

Eurostar is bidding to run a newly-privatised East Coast Main Line.

The Channel Tunnel company is to launch a joint bid with French company Keolis to operate the London to Scotland rail route.

It has been run by the government since 2009, when National Express handed back the franchise mid-term.

Labour and trades unions have opposed returning the line to private control, arguing that it provides value for taxpayers.

Eurostar would take a minority share in the Keolis-Eurostar consortium.

Keolis, which is majority-owned by French rail company SNCF, already operates four UK franchises - Southern, Southeastern, London Midland and TransPennine Express.

UK chief executive Alistair Gordon said: "I believe that our ability to draw upon an international track record of delivering complex long-distance services, coupled with Eurostar's reputation for customer excellence, is a unique proposition."

Eurostar chief executive Nicolas Petrovic said: "The East Coast franchise is a vital economic artery and a key route for both business and leisure passengers which represents an exciting opportunity for future growth and investment."

The successful bidder is expected to be announced in October 2014, with the service running from February 2015.

Announcing the tendering process in March, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said franchising was a "force for good in the story of Britain's railways".

The line runs from London to Aberdeen via Peterborough, Leeds, York, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I thought TransPennine Express was run by First?

 

[asylumxl]

I thought TransPennine Express was run by First?

More high quality journalism.

 

[rebmcr]

I thought TransPennine Express was run by First?

It's a partnership. The i in Pennine is the i from the Keolis logo.

 

[gordonthemoron]

More high quality journalism.

I especially liked the bit at the end which suggests that London-Aberdeen is via Glasgow and Inverness

 

[Deerfold]

I thought TransPennine Express was run by First?

55% First, 45% Keolis.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I especially liked the bit at the end which suggests that London-Aberdeen is via Glasgow and Inverness

It's a shortened version of all the routes and branches. You'd use a lot more room identifying each flow they run - they might have been better saying from London to......and listing all the main stations.

 

[gordonthemoron]

they also forgot Lincoln, Hull, Skipton, Bradford & Harrogate

 

[Oswyntail]

they also forgot Lincoln, Hull, Skipton, Bradford & Harrogate

Of course the latter three are all just suburbs of Leeds

 

[corin paul]

We see 'Frist TransPennine Express' think first run it, and forget it's 45% Kelios run. Because 'First' is a household name in the UK, unlike Kelios. But now the 'First' name is getting linked with over crowding and high fares. Will Kelios us there name in the UK or the Eurostar name?
That's if they win.

 

[jon0844]

Depends. Kelios might want to remain fairly anonymous and be happy to stay mostly hidden to the end user, precisely for the reason that it wants to protect its reputation.

 

[Eagle]

Keolis is so anonymous that no one appears to be able to spell it :P

Even the joint venture they set up with Go-Ahead, which currently operates three rail franchises, uses a name and logo based on Go-Ahead's.

 

[Deerfold]

Keolis is so anonymous that no one appears to be able to spell it :P

But then you'd think people would be able to spell "First"...

 

[TheGrew]

I wonder how long it will be before someone asks if this means the class 373 sets will be put on the ECML again :P

 

[Masboroughlad]

Who else is bidding?

 

[gordonthemoron]

I wonder how long it will be before someone asks if this means the class 373 sets will be put on the ECML again :P

I was wondering that too

 

[jon0844]

Keolis is so anonymous that no one appears to be able to spell it :P

Ha! Well, without looking the company up I just cut and pasted it from another post, but - that said - it's one of those words/names that's easy to make you transpose characters by mistake!

Who else is bidding?

Virgin MUST be bidding and I'd also assume First would have go.

Now, would National Express be planning to bid? Could it bid (imagine the publicity in the media)?

I say this because Elaine Holt left for National Express and is/was supposedly going to help National Express get itself capable of bidding for future franchises - and her 'inside' knowledge, assuming she's still there, would presumably be quite beneficial for this particular franchise.

Of course, why are we bothering with the bidding nonsense if Virgin is going to bid? Let's just allow social media to determine the winner, which will be Virgin. There, done!

 

[SkinnyDave]

Who else is bidding?

I'm not a betting man but I would have thought First and Virgin will be in there

 

[sprinterguy]

Now, would National Express be planning to bid? Could it bid (imagine the publicity in the media)?

I believe that it’s already been publically reported that National Express will be preparing a bid for the East Coast franchise. Not that they’ll necessarily make the shortlist: Presumably we should be seeing a full list of the shortlisted bidders announced by the end of the year.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Eurostar bids for East Coast Main Line franchise http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24330881

It's disingenuous to announce "Eurostar is bidding for EC" when Eurostar is a minority partner to Keolis (SNCF).
No doubt the readers think Eurostar is a British company, but of course it's not.
Eurostar (EIL) is owned 55% by SNCF, 40% by LCR (the British element) and 5% by SNCB of Belgium.
So it's a French bid really, dominated by SNCF.

 

[jon0844]

I have to assume that the current rules would prevent them being eliminated purely because of their past record, and NatEx might well have a valid legal claim if this did happen.

In fact, I rather feel for the DfT on this. Joe Public will naturally expect them to fail at the first hurdle, and if not then the Government suddenly gets into all sort of problems - especially if National Express won. Can you imagine it? The very company that saw DOR take over is now back in charge.

I don't envy anyone having to go through that bid!

 

[ainsworth74]

Who else is bidding?

Usual suspects I'd have thought, I would imagine that this will be the only interesting bid party. Otherwise my money would be on First, Virgin, National Express (yes really!), Abellio and this Eurostar/Keolis pairing (which as already mentioned is really an SNCF + assorted others bid). Of course not all of them will necessarily make it to the stage at which they actually prepar full blown bids in response to an ITT.

 

[SkinnyDave]

It will be an interesting process this one because its an understatement to say this franchise needs stability above all else

 

[jon0844]

Any outcome is going to cause controversy, for a multitude of reasons.

 

[Eagle]

I wouldn't bet against Renfe giving it a go, even though they've had their fingers burnt trying to enter the UK market before.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Arriva will surely bid for DB.
There should be a pre-qualification phase for the EC bids, which might start quite soon.
DfT will have to outline the scope of the new franchise.

 

[bnm]

Now, would National Express be planning to bid? Could it bid (imagine the publicity in the media)?

I say this because Elaine Holt left for National Express and is/was supposedly going to help National Express get itself capable of bidding for future franchises - and her 'inside' knowledge, assuming she's still there, would presumably be quite beneficial for this particular franchise.

Elaine Holt is no longer at National Express. She left early this year and was, from March to July 2013 working for RATP Dev on their pre-qualification bid for the Crossrail concession. No current employer listed on her LinkedIn profile.

 

[ainsworth74]

I knew I forgot someone! I'd add Arriva to my list also.

 

[telstarbox]

Guardian says:

The DfT has said it will try to attract bids from as many international firms as possible to promote genuine competition in the industry. A bidders' day held by the government in July attracted interest from firms across Europe and the far east.

Keolis, which already operates four train franchises in the UK in a partnership with Go-Ahead branded Govia, will be the lead partner in the bid, with a minority share to be held by Eurostar. It marks a further potential expansion for Eurostar, which last week announced it would start direct services to the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, from London.

Alistair Gordon, chief executive of Keolis UK, said: "What's exciting about the east coast mainline is that there is an opportunity to transform a hugely important national route, which is yet to see the same levels of investment as the west coast mainline."

The successful bidder for the franchise is expected to be awarded a contract in October 2014, with the franchise commencing in February 2015.

Sir Richard Branson has indicated that Virgin will bid for the route, probably along with Stagecoach, his partner in Virgin Rail. National Express has however ruled itself out after the debacle of its last successful bid to run the line.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/30/eurostar-keolis-bid-east-coast-rail

 

[gordonthemoron]

Arriva will surely bid for DB.
There should be a pre-qualification phase for the EC bids, which might start quite soon.
DfT will have to outline the scope of the new franchise.

God, not Arriva

 

[sprinterguy]

National Express has however ruled itself out after the debacle of its last successful bid to run the line.

I stand corrected. That's a new development from what I recall being reported previously.