Wisest choice of operator for Elizabeth line?

[AndrewE]

Four companies/groups have apparently been shortlisted...

I would imagine that the best bet would to get one of the "companies" already running the services at one end or the other to expand into it.
As I said on https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...ne-operations-from-may-2025-announced.262891/

Wouldn't it be best run by one of the operators of the trains at its outer ends? That way when things go pear-shaped there is just one company [at that end] to unscramble it, one control and one set of employees...

We need to put the railway back together, not introduce new players (maybe novices, brand new "teams" at least) and yet more contracts and artificial and unnecessary interfaces...

 

[skyhigh]

There's no suggestion that they'd operate a single Control, harmonise all staff conditions and training or join anything else up, so to be honest I don't really see what difference it makes.

Changing the operating company isn't going to introduce more or less interfaces, it's just going to change the ownership of existing ones.

For example - there was no unification between XC and Northern under Arriva, even though their services interacted, and in some cases they each had crew depots in the same building and took trains off the same depot.

 

[m0ffy]

TfL. Why add another layer of abstraction for little to no gain?