If you are travelling by train between London and Edinburgh, Sheffield or Birmingham, or cross-country via Birmingham, you will have noticed the change in ownership of a number of rail franchises, which took place in November. Through a competitive tendering process, the Department for Transport has awarded three large, reshaped operating franchises: cross-country to Arriva; West Midlands to Govia; and East Midlands to Stagecoach. GNER has been replaced on the East Coast by National Express and a new London Overground metro rail service is being run for Transport for London by a joint venture between Laing (the operators of Chiltern) and MTR of Hong Kong, in place of National Express.
For rail commuters, this looks rather like a game of musical chairs where the players move around and the same services continue to run, using the same trains and largely the same staff. Politicians, the media and even members of the public are beginning to focus on the cost of these massive competitions – estimated at £5m for a private sector bidder (which inevitably falls on the taxpayer and the passengers through fares) and whether the expenses involved in the rebranding of services and trains are justified.
