Open Access: Local/Regional Operations?

[Iskra]

With the exception of Heathrow Express and Excursion Train operators, Open Access in the U.K. has tended to involve linking London with far away places using intercity style trains.

This got me thinking, are there any local or regional routes that could benefit from or justify a regular, additional open access service?

You may only include London as a suggestion if it is not an intercity service you are suggesting.

 

[pdeaves]

Commuter networks make their income from the peaks, which can then support other services. Thus, any non-InterCity operator would need to run a good selection of services throughout the day, unless 'we' (as a nation) want to end up with profit-making peak hour services where company A creams off the dividend, and socially-supported off peak services where the tax payer supports company B.

 

[Iskra]

Commuter networks make their income from the peaks, which can then support other services. Thus, any non-InterCity operator would need to run a good selection of services throughout the day, unless 'we' (as a nation) want to end up with profit-making peak hour services where company A creams off the dividend, and socially-supported off peak services where the tax payer supports company B.

But if the existing operator doesn't have the stock to provide adequate capacity in the peaks, it wouldn't necessarily be abstracting any revenue, it would be generating additional? The TOC also wouldn't have to buy/staff/maintain more trains that could be sat around off-peak? The OA operator would have that issue to deal with instead, but it could work if they got the sums right or found something useful for their rolling stock to do the rest of the time, alternatively they could do their maintenance between the peaks rather than overnight which could cut costs.

So can anyone think of any areas where something like this could work?

 

[coppercapped]

Go-op has been around for some time, but not yet got anywhere.

 

[swt_passenger]

Grand Southern wanted to run Southampton to Waterloo, which isn’t exactly intercity, and there’s a fairly detailed explanation of why it wasn’t allowed on the ORR website.

 

[Bevan Price]

I doubt that there is any spare line capacity to permit new "open operator" local services to serve places like Liverpool, Manchester or Leeds.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Absolutely no regional network whatsoever would benefit from open access. Regional services need to be coordinated with clockface, connectional timetables and a single through ticketing system. Competition, if it is desirable, needs to be at the point of tendering for operation. The UK's farce of a bus system demonstrates amply why this is not the way to go.

I can't, as I just posted in another thread, think of a single other country that does this. That tells you all you need to know.

 

[RT4038]

Absolutely no regional network whatsoever would benefit from open access. Regional services need to be coordinated with clockface, connectional timetables and a single through ticketing system. Competition, if it is desirable, needs to be at the point of tendering for operation. The UK's farce of a bus system demonstrates amply why this is not the way to go.

I can't, as I just posted in another thread, think of a single other country that does this. That tells you all you need to know.

I think the main reason no regional network is likely to see open access is because there is little/no profits to be made on regional services.

 

[Bald Rick]

I think the main reason no regional network is likely to see open access is because there is little/no profits to be made on regional services.

There is no regional service that gets remotely close to making a profit.

 

[RT4038]

There is no regional service that gets remotely close to making a profit.

That isn't to say that one couldn't (it would have to be Birmingham-Manchester or something similar?)

 

[Bald Rick]

That isn't to say that one couldn't (it would have to be Birmingham-Manchester or something similar?)

That would be inter city, by definition!

 

[RT4038]

That would be inter city, by definition!

Yes, but the OP was referring to 'linking London with far away places, using Inter City style trains'. In this context, I took 'Regional' to be anything not linking London. The possibility of anything profitable not 'Inter City' and not involving London is extremely small!