Rumour: First to win thameslink/southern/great northern

[Stats]

There are Southern only seasons from Gatwick Airport to London Bridge and Gatwick Airport to All zones travelcard

 

[sprinterguy]

Cambridgeshire isn't particularly Northern...

Of course, the current title for this group of suburban services is derived from the pre-grouping operator of the East Coast main line out of Kings Cross, the Great Northern Railway.

 

[SF-02]

Yeah but with that come some very complicated fares

Yep I'm sure it's tricky for people who are not frequent users.

I was lucky enough in the past year to get £5 advances a few days before travelling on southern quite a few times, and some good one day returns with FCC buying a couple of days before before travelling. I really hope all those deals don't end but on the day tickets can be rationalised if too complex.

 

[bakerstreet]

Shame if the rainy day guarantee, including money back Southern advances, goes.
I would also be sad if some of the via Barnham went as an option. Although this is competition against SWT so maybe they might remain...

 

[Chrisgr31]

Two articles on the subject sort of:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10775084/Rail-franchise-turmoil-looms.html

http://www.theguardian.com/business...r/07/go-ahead-firstgroup-thameslink-franchise

Suggestion being Go-Ahead will get it, partly because they are not bidding on all the opportunities!

Some time soon though we'll know.

 

[cjmillsnun]

FCC trains are not the cleanest trains on the network nor the prettiest but that's not simply down to first

Really??? Other companies manage to keep their trains reasonably clean.

EDIT: A mop and bucket and a hoover of the interior would work wonders! I understand the outside might be more of a PITA.

 

[SPADTrap]

"2. The risk of sending a negative message: The process is no longer blind-bidding. When assessing FirstGroup and Go-Ahead, it is clear that the former is participating in numerous bids, whereas the latter only has two shots on goal or risk being frozen out; something we believe the government is keen to avoid."

So the guardian are basing their decision to give a franchise to a group purely because they might not get anything else?

Am I missing something here?

 

[12CSVT]

Really??? Other companies manage to keep their trains reasonably clean.

EDIT: A mop and bucket and a hoover of the interior would work wonders! I understand the outside might be more of a PITA.

And lots of bio-hazard kits, especially for units that have been working late Friday and Saturday evening services

 

[cjmillsnun]

And lots of bio-hazard kits, especially for units that have been working late Friday and Saturday evening services

Other TOCS will have similar issues

 

[Bayum]

I know it is only the beginning of May, but when is it likely the winner of the Thameslink franchise will be announced? Is it usually beginning or end of the month?

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

So the guardian are basing their decision to give a franchise to a group purely because they might not get anything else?

They were quoting an analyst at Merrill Lynch.
Go Ahead (Govia) is also, like First, an incumbent (of the Southern half of the new franchise).

 

[SPADTrap]

They were quoting an analyst at Merrill Lynch.
Go Ahead (Govia) is also, like First, an incumbent (of the Southern half of the new franchise).

Yeah I know that, maybe I'm still missing something!

 

[Class377/5]

I know it is only the beginning of May, but when is it likely the winner of the Thameslink franchise will be announced? Is it usually beginning or end of the month?

There a mention on internal system that the announcement is due between mid May and 12th June.

As for bunnies, mines arrived in one piece and not melted.

 

[Stats]

I'm not sure I agree with the basis of the Merrill Lynch suggestion. Yes, given the upheaval of the franchise the sensible decision would be to go with an incumbent who has experience in operating in one of the franchises. But as this is the first franchise award since the West Coast debacle I think DfT will want to be seen to be whiter than white in coming to their decision and that means basing the decisions purely on the basis of the bids in front of them.

The one thing that GoVia does have in their favour is that they have a working smartcard system in place, with ability to use it with Go-Ahead bus services in the franchise area being developed during this year. As the DfT are very keen in progressing ticketing in this way this is surely going to be bonus points for GoVia's bid.

 

[Pretendolino]

As with all bidding processes, there's bound to be rumours. I'm under the impression that it is still anyone's to be won. I don't believe these completely unsubstantiated rumours about First. The government should base their decision solely on the quality of the bid submitted, regardless of how many other bids a company may be working on elsewhere.

In terms of when the announcement will be made, there's only one thing we know. In order for the new franchise owner to fully mobilise in time for July 2015 they'll need to know by early June at the very latest. I expect people will know of the outcome within 3 weeks or so, but again I can't be certain.

Whatever the outcome, I hope I still keep my job!

 

[sarahj]

I think the cleaning guys down at Brighton for FCC are doing a decent job. I've even seen them cleaning on the train as its in service. I guess the 319's are getting to an age where mopping and vacing are bit 'scratching the surface'.

Of course when punters do things like peel a banana and leave the skin on the seat, or clip their toenails, or just decide that putting their feet on the seats (and that not just the young, ive seen suited commuters and old folks do it), they are fighting a loosing battle.

As for who wins, well as conductors we are worried over some bidders and gov plans.

 

[jon0844]

On the GN side, FCC seem to do a top job keeping trains clean inside and out, including litter collection. And I've seen staff checking the trains extremely thoroughly (fingers along poster boards etc) and ticking off things on PDAs.

If a train is dirty then it will probably be as a result of mucky passengers, so that's a fault of society not a train operator.

 

[A-driver]

I think a big issue with cleaning Thameslink trains is that they have to be done on the move. The trains basically do 2 trips in one-Bedford to London and then London to Brighton. So cleaners clean whilst it passes through London but the next lot getting on to travel to the coast make it a mess again.

 

[Minstral25]

I think the big issue with Thameslink trains is they are just old and in need of a good refurbishment.

Historically though First have been terrible south of the river throughout their franchise but seem to have tidied up their job north of the river since the "I Hate First Capital Connect" campaigns a few years back.

I'd still like to see Southern (GOVIA) win it because they seem to actually take passenger comments into account and make themselves available at Management level. How many MD's and timetable guys turn up to meet the Manager monthly sessions at Stations on a regular basis.

A few Southern employees also have mentioned to me they don't want to work for First but I don't know very many so perhaps that is just a minority opinion. Fortunately all but top managers are TUPE'd over

I know very little about how the other two companies operate so no real view there but as a daily customer I will be looking at this very closely when the award comes later this month and what is proposed for my local services

 

[jon0844]

I'd still like to see Southern (GOVIA) win it because they seem to actually take passenger comments into account and make themselves available at Management level. How many MD's and timetable guys turn up to meet the Manager monthly sessions at Stations on a regular basis.

Since 2006, a change of MDs has meant a big variation in what FCC has done. From the outset, Elaine Holt was very proactive on the meet the directors forum and station meets, bringing along top people that could answer questions directly.

She'd also follow up questions by email, or even inviting some people down to Hertford House to discuss face to face.

Then it went downhill with nobody really interested in the forums, dodging all the questions and just pandering to train enthusiasts.

I think the latest management seem to be more interested and have started to have more face to face meetings at stations, and maybe the forums are better now (but I've not been on for some time).

Ultimately, it's not always about the operator but the route - especially the building site that's Thameslink. It's down to the track, the rolling stock, the stations, the passenger loadings, and loads of other things that can make or break a service. There's only so much that a change of management can do, which is more likely down to the image it portrays and that being how customers judge the service.

In other words, Virgin has a strong brand and people can ignore the odd issue. On First Capital Connect, those small issues (whether FCC's fault or not) compound and people get more and more angry about this 'greedy bus company'. Who can get angry with nice old Richard Branson who's sticking it to the man (supposedly!).

 

[LBSCR Times]

I'd still like to see Southern (GOVIA) win it......

To go in to pedantic mode, with apologies...
It is not Southern, it will be a different set of managers in charge until Southern are amalgamated.

A few Southern employees also have mentioned to me they don't want to work for First but I don't know very many so perhaps that is just a minority opinion. Fortunately all but top managers are TUPE'd over

Probably because they might lose their jobs.....
Ask some of the former Gatwick Express staff what they thought of the Southern takeover, and how the Airport service has gone downhill?

 

[pete_m911]

No one thinks Stagecoach will win then?!

 

[Pretendolino]

Announcement must be imminent now, surely? I haven't heard a squeak in terms of who may win it.

 

[westcoaster]

Announcement must be imminent now, surely? I haven't heard a squeak in terms of who may win it.

Latest from the rumour mill is the franchise winner will be announced after the EU elections, as the is a conflict of some kind.

 

[A-driver]

Latest from the rumour mill is the franchise winner will be announced after the EU elections, as the is a conflict of some kind.

I have heard a fairly trustworthy rumour that (at least part of) the reason for the delayed announcement is that first groups legal team are picking the DfTs decision apart. If this is true then it sounds like first group have not been awarded it (I doubt they would take these steps of they had). This rumour comes from a friend who works in Hertford house but I will stress that it is not official, just rumour and that this friend isn't in a senior position so has heard it themselves as a "reliable rumour". I tend not to believe railway rumour but I'm not dismissing this one yet.

 

[jon0844]

Latest from the rumour mill is the franchise winner will be announced after the EU elections, as the is a conflict of some kind.

UKIP has won the franchise?

 

[Carlisle]

I have heard a fairly trustworthy rumour that (at least part of) the reason for the delayed announcement is that first groups legal team are picking the DfTs decision apart. If this is true then it sounds like first group have not been awarded it (I doubt they would take these steps of they had). This rumour comes from a friend who works in Hertford house but I will stress that it is not official, just rumour and that this friend isn't in a senior position so has heard it themselves as a "reliable rumour". I tend not to believe railway rumour but I'm not dismissing this one yet.

The DaFT are going to seem completely useless if the lawyers manage to tank this one as well as what Virgin managed to achieve with the recent west coast fiasco

 

[12CSVT]

Latest from the rumour mill is the franchise winner will be announced after the EU elections, as the is a conflict of some kind.

UKIP has won the franchise?

If this happens, then to quote Private Fraser from 'Dad's Army', we're all doomed.

 

[Class377/5]

I have heard a fairly trustworthy rumour that (at least part of) the reason for the delayed announcement is that first groups legal team are picking the DfTs decision apart. If this is true then it sounds like first group have not been awarded it (I doubt they would take these steps of they had). This rumour comes from a friend who works in Hertford house but I will stress that it is not official, just rumour and that this friend isn't in a senior position so has heard it themselves as a "reliable rumour". I tend not to believe railway rumour but I'm not dismissing this one yet.

Variations of this rumor are going around at the moment from there. I got told a slightly different one this week and frankly I don't put much stock in anything being said right now.

 

[Stats]

Latest from the rumour mill is the franchise winner will be announced after the EU elections, as the is a conflict of some kind.

The Civil Service is currently in purdah and should not make any announcements that could impact on the European or local elections. I would have thought it would be wise given recent franchising difficulties and that there is a European state owned subsidary bidding in the form of www.abelliothameslink.co.uk to wait until after the elections to make the announcement.