4th October 2013
- First Great Western to retain franchise for another two years
- Eurostar announces bid for East Coast franchise
- Transport secretary dismisses “moaning” HS2 critics
Main stories this week
FirstGroup’s First Great Western will keep the franchise to run trains into Wales and the South West for another two years. [BBC News]
- [The Times] describes the agremenet struck by the Department for Transport as a “chaper deal”
Eurostar is to bid for the East Coast franchise with Keolis, entering the bidding for UK domestic rail franchises for the first time. [Financial Times]
- The plans could be halted at a red light after lawyers warned Eurostar’s part-ownership by the British taxpayer could count against it. [The Times]
In an interview with [the Observer], the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, insists that he, David Cameron and the chancellor, George Osborne, all remain fully committed to building High Speed 2.
- McLoughlin has hit out at critics of HS2, accusing London-based commentators of “moaning” about the rail link’s cost. [BBC News]
New rail services
Rail passengers will be able to travel to Amsterdam directly from 2016, after Eurostar reached an agreement with Dutch railways. [The Times]
Other stories this week
Prime Minister David Cameron has said he would “not rule out” banning strikes on the London Underground. [BBC News]
A Southeastern railway timetable introduced to help train drivers cope with leaves on the line in south-east England has come into effect. [BBC News]
Plans for 20 new railway stations across south Wales have been criticised as failing to look at how passengers will get to their nearest station. [BBC News]
Rail companies were branded “great train robbers” as new figures revealed some fares have more than tripled since privatisation. [Evening Standard]
Britain faces losing 3,500 highly skilled civil engineers and tunnelling specialists abroad if there is no new big infrastructure project ready to take over from the £14.8 billion Crossrail development from East to West London, the scheme’s chief executive has warned. [The Times]
A boom in rail travel has created more than 10,000 extra jobs, new figures have revealed. [Daily Mirror]
Finance and companies
The boss of Eurotunnel has warned that the 600 staff who operate the company’s three cross-Channel ferries will lose their jobs if the company does not win an appeal against a decision by the UK competition watchdog to bar the ships from serving Dover. [Financial Times]
- [The Sunday Times] warns of a French ban of British companies.
