17th December 2012
- The costs of the cancelled West Coast franchise continued to spiral
- Tim Bell has been promoted at Arriva Trains Wales
- Scottish fares to see below-inflation increases from 2016
Main stories
Costs from the scrapped West Coast franchise procurement are likely to top £8.9m, the National Audit Office said on Friday. [Transport Briefing]
- The collapse of bidding for the West Coast rail franchise will cost taxpayers another £6 million, permanent secretary Philip Rutnam has admitted. [The Times]
Tim Bell, managing director of Arriva Trains Wales, has been promoted to a franchise bidding role. [Railway Eye]
Off-peak train fares will rise 1% below inflation from 2016, the Scottish government has said. [BBC News]
New services
Passengers will now be able to travel in an orbital route on London Overground with the opening of a new link in the south. [BBC News]
Kent MPs are today urging the rail minister to address spiralling fares – and resist a “rail grab” by the Mayor of London to take over key commuter services. [Kent Online]
Two new stations are planned at Newcourt and Marsh Barton in Devon. [Transport Briefing]
Other stories this week
BBC News carries reports of industrial action on the railways in the run-up to Christmas on ScotRail, CrossCountry and London Underground.
Changes to train timetables and work patterns have been introduced to reduce cancellations caused by a driver shortage, according to London Midland. [BBC News]
Hitachi suffered a setback after it emerged part of a UK train contract worth more than £2bn may not be signed off. [Financial Times]
- Siemens edged closer to completing the Thameslink train contract, dashing UK-based Bombardier’s hopes of a renegotiation. [The Observer]
Finance
Stagecoach has increased profits in the last six months, citing good revenue growth in its UK rail division. [Rail.co]
FirstGroup executives have been rattled not just by the loss of the InterCity West Coast franchise but by its bus operations, says [Private Eye]. FirstGroup shares fell by more than a quarter after the franchise process was subsequently cancelled in late September.
