Rail passengers
in the Thames Valley, the South West and South Wales are being
asked for their views on how their rail services should be run,
Rail Minister Theresa Villiers has announced.
A consultation launched today will give passengers, local
councils and other interested groups the chance to say what
improvements and changes they want to see delivered by the new
Great Western rail franchise, which is set to be renewed in 2013.
Theresa Villiers said:
“This consultation launch represents an excellent opportunity for
passengers to make their mark and tell us what changes they think
should be made. This is their chance to tell us how train services
can better serve passengers.
“The franchise will be one of the first to be let on a 15 year
term. We will expect the train operator chosen to run the
franchise to provide high quality services, deliver improved
levels of passenger satisfaction, roll out smart ticketing for
thousands more journeys, and invest in improvements that will
benefit passengers.
“The winning bidder will also need to build successful working
relationships with Network Rail aimed at improving efficiency and
reducing the cost of running the railways. The coming years will
also see a major improvements to Great Western rail
infrastructure.”
The new franchisee will be responsible for ensuring that overall
passenger experience improves throughout the life of the
franchise. There will need to be improvements in: service quality,
retailing and provision of information to customers, particularly
during times of planned and unplanned disruption. The franchisee
will also need to ensure that train services perform to the
highest practical reliability and punctuality standards.
The successful bidder is expected to oversee the introduction of
new Intercity Express trains on the route, providing more capacity
than the High Speed Trains they are planned to replace on parts of
the franchise. They will also oversee a major increase in capacity
on routes into London Paddington - with the number of peak times
seats set to increase from around 17,000 today to almost 20,000 in
2019 - and will manage the franchise through major upgrade and
electrification work to the Great Western Mainline.
The new franchisee will also take on greater responsibility for
maintenance and upkeep of station facilities, ensuring they are
attractive gateways to the railway system, as well as being
modern, user-friendly interchanges with other modes of transport.
Bidders are being encouraged to consider how fares on the route
could be simplified and the opportunities for new retailing
methods to make buying a ticket easier, such as 'print at
home' services.
In addition, the franchise will be structured in a way which
could allow the transfer of certain responsibilities to local
authorities after the awarding of the franchise as the Government
will soon be consulting on decentralising some responsibilities
for local rail services.
Notes to Editors
1. The Great Western Franchise Replacement consultation, which
starts today, closes on 31 March 2012. The Department for
Transport will produce a summary of the consultation responses
alongside the Invitation to Tender, which will be published in May
2012. The winning bidder will be announced in December 2012 with
the new franchise set to start in April 2013. 2. The new operator
will be expected to manage the franchise alongside planned
upgrades to infrastructure and services, including the provision
of extra carriages, the redevelopment of Reading station, the
electrification of the line, the Crossrail project, the Intercity
Express Programme and the Swindon-Kemble line redoubling. 3. A
copy of the consultation document is available at:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2011-36Press Enquiries:
020 7944 3108Out of Hours: 020 7944 4292Public Enquiries: 0300 330
3000Department for Transport Website:
http://www.dft.gov.ukwww.twitter.com/transportgovuk |
www.youtube.com/transportgovuk | www.flickr.com/transportgovuk
Contacts:
DfT Press Office - Rail
Phone: DfT Press Office 020 7944 3108
nds.dft@coi.gsi.gov.uk