'Only two bidders for SWT Franchise'

[Barn]

As someone who is involved with procurement (not on railways, I hasten to add) "... unless you can detail massive experience in successfully delivering previous similar contracts..." has nothing to do with EU procurement laws. That is what most clients request though, why would you want to go to someone who has never done 'it' before or has a bad track record?

It has a little bit to do with EU procurement law in the sense that the criteria you can apply at the selection (shortlisting) stage is quite limited and, if you want to qualitatively compare candidates to arrive at a shortlist, experience is one of the only ways to do this, especially when all bidders are likely to meet the financial standing requirements.

 

[Paul180]

I just love what bad journalist the local paper employees.

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/transport-london-misses-out-south-10839907

Transport for London (TfL) has NOT been shortlisted to take over the South Western rail franchise.

From June next year TfL had been tipped to take over the vital service connecting Portsmouth to London, via Surrey including Guildford and Woking, but it has not been included on the Department for Transport shortlist.

This is despite the fact TfL has received government backing to take over the Southern Rail franchise in 2018.

Instead it was announced last Thursday (February 4) that First South Western Trains Ltd and Stagecoach South West Limited (SSW) are the two contenders for the South Western franchise.

Rail Minister Claire Perry said: "The South Western franchise has some of the busiest routes in the country, serving a diverse range of passengers and places. It is vital that we have the best partner to help us meet the challenge of delivering better journeys for all customers using these services.

“We are investing in additional capacity, and have ambitious plans for smart ticketing, customer service and improved connectivity across the South Western network, to give passengers real benefits across the region and beyond.”

I thought tfl were only wanted the metro routes not the whole franchise.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

That's correct. Metro routes only, well that's my understanding of it.

 

[Barn]

And I thought TfL were to be given the job of commissioning and specifying the metro routes, not the operation. They were to take on DfT's role, not the franchisee's role.

 

[swt_passenger]

And I thought TfL were to be given the job of commissioning and specifying the metro routes, not the operation. They were to take on DfT's role, not the franchisee's role.

The journalist has just shown himself to be a complete dunce. Transfer of anything, whether specification or full operation, to TfL would be by DfT mandate, nothing to do with them entering a bidding process.

The prospectus/consultation explicitly already covered the point that the SWT replacement process was too close for change. He can't have read it.

 

[deltic]

The journalist has just shown himself to be a complete dunce. Transfer of anything, whether specification or full operation, to TfL would be by DfT mandate, nothing to do with them entering a bidding process.

The prospectus/consultation explicitly already covered the point that the SWT replacement process was too close for change. He can't have read it.

Why on earth would they have done any background reading when they are required to produce 6-10 "stories" a day - local papers and journalism is long dead