5.1 Improved services between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed/Newcastle
Bidders are asked to find a solution to increase services between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed, incorporating services to potential new stations at Reston and East Linton, by extending existing services between Edinburgh and Dunbar. Bidders may be informed by the recent appraisal carried out on behalf of SESTrans, available on the Data Site.
There may be scope for these services to extend further to Newcastle, through an agreement with the DfT and appropriate sponsored rail franchisees.
Bidders are required to include the following:
- A full description of the 7-day timetable for the services affected;
- A full description of rolling stock diagram changes; and
- An explanation of the revenue and cost impacts of the proposals.
In addition, Bidders should outline how they will work with Network Rail, local support groups and any DfT sponsored rail franchises.