More "GWR" size franchises?

[Sad Sprinter]

Is there, or is there not, any benefit over more, larger franchises in the style of GWR and EMR where Intercity and regional services are combined? So for instance, merging Avanti, LNWR and the GMPTE/West Tpex services to one large franchise and the WYPTE/Northern services in the North East with LNER?

If not, is there any franchises that could produce some kind of benefit if merged together?

 

[SynthD]

There aren’t any franchises to merge. It sounds like DfT could direct the concessions, depending on final implementation, enough to be able to break them up a little.

 

[BayPaul]

Post HS2 I could see the logic in merging London NorthWestern Railway and the remaining Avanti services, so that all services on the South WCML are run by the same operator, with HS2 being run by a separate company.

 

[pdeaves]

A common one that crops up is (re-)merging Northern and TPE.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A common one that crops up is (re-)merging Northern and TPE.

I was long in favour of this, but I'm not sure it wouldn't just result in TPE being dragged down to the same level of dross as Northern, with 150s showing up vice Mk5a sets and the likes.

I'd support it if the mess that is Northern could be sorted out, which would require a major change of management at several levels.

 

[swt_passenger]

Post HS2 I could see the logic in merging London NorthWestern Railway and the remaining Avanti services, so that all services on the South WCML are run by the same operator, with HS2 being run by a separate company.

Hasn’t that already been planned for with the former LM franchise area being split into two “business units” to allow merger of their Euston services with the main WCML operator?

 

[Energy]

Hasn’t that already been planned for with the former LM franchise area being split into two “business units” to allow merger of their Euston services with the main WCML operator?

Not sure, the split may also be WM's desire for all the buses, trains and trams to all be under the diamond branding. I think they may be planning to split the franchise later on with WMR presumably being similar to London Overground .

 

[PTR 444]

A common one that crops up is (re-)merging Northern and TPE.

I’d rather that Northern and TPE were carved into separate Northwest and Northeast franchise/contract/concessions. The former could operate all services west of the Pennines as well as the Hope Valley stopper and everything on the Calder Valley line, while the latter could run all the services east of the Pennines, including the TPE Huddersfield services, S&C, Bentham and Tyne Valley.

 

[ScottGallagher]

I think had the SRA continued this would have happened to an extent. The preference then was one operator per London Terminus but only Great Western and Anglia were done.
Virgin no doubt woukd have lobbied against it as I doubt they would have wanted their brand slapped on a 321 let alone a pacer!

 

[Energy]

Virgin no doubt woukd have lobbied against it as I doubt they would have wanted their brand slapped on a 321 let alone a pacer!

Doesn't have to be Virgins brand. They can still brand it as something like North West Trains like their Stagecoach sister companies.

 

[YorksLad12]

A common one that crops up is (re-)merging Northern and TPE.

I’d rather that Northern and TPE were carved into separate Northwest and Northeast franchise/contract/concessions. The former could operate all services west of the Pennines as well as the Hope Valley stopper and everything on the Calder Valley line, while the latter could run all the services east of the Pennines, including the TPE Huddersfield services, S&C, Bentham and Tyne Valley.

From memory, Rail North were quite keen on this at the time (about six years ago now). For 2016 TPE was let as seven years plus 2, Northern as nine plus 1 so there was another opportunity to re-merge in 2025. If anything, I'd break up Northern by the type of route rather than east-west. Semi-fasts in one franchise or operating unit, stoppers in another, north-east services are isolated from the rest too. And return TPE to being just t-p services!

So no: I don't think super-franchises would be the way ahead, were we to have franchises, but more localised or service types as part of an England-wide "franchise". Think along the lines of Europe after WWI...