Rumour: First to win thameslink/southern/great northern

[LNW-GW Joint]

The winning bidder is notified and has to sign the contract.
The DfT then notifies the Stock Exchange of the winner, and on the same day also informs the losing bidders of their scores relative to the winner.
All the bidders will have to negotiate top-level contracts in advance of the decision - but only one gets signed.
There are two franchise decisions pending - TSGN and Essex Thameside.
They may or may not be announced simultaneously, but there are advantages in doing them together (bigger impact, less speculation etc).
It's pretty certain that none of the bidders knows if they have won or not, unless there's been a leak.

 

[JB25]

Does anyone know when this is due to be announced?

 

[DelayRepay]

UKIP has won the franchise?

No, UKIP are more interested in bidding for the Eurostar franchise

 

[bussnapperwm]

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.

That link, having looked at, and done a Google Translate on it, looks like a holding page for a Dutch registrar

 

[swt_passenger]

Does anyone know when this is due to be announced?

Between about now (elections notwithstanding) and early June, as explained earlier in this thread. The DfT's recently amended franchising programme simply shows 'May'.

The franchise actually starts in September, so it can't be too far away, as the incoming franchisee needs a couple of moths to get organised.

 

[A-driver]

Between about now (elections notwithstanding) and early June, as explained earlier in this thread. The DfT's recently amended franchising programme simply shows 'May'.



The franchise actually starts in September, so it can't be too far away, as the incoming franchisee needs a couple of moths to get organised.

Well moths couldn't be any worse at organising things than current management.

 

[SPADTrap]

Both the franchise announcement and the potential 7 period "extension" have to be announced by 12th June latest.

 

[tsr]

Whilst I fully appreciate that deciding the winner of the franchise is not the easiest process in the world, it strikes me that a decision date as broad as "May", which may in fact mean something as late as 12 June, is unnecessarily vague.

I cannot see an end to speculation amongst staff, rail users etc. in these matters, but it would seem more professional if there was a fixed date for a decision to be made by - preferably within the month stated within documentation, at the very least! Signing such contracts, notifying the Stock Exchange, and so on, are not small tasks, and uncertainty for one-and-a-half months cannot do the prospective bidders or the economy any good, given that it must mean staff waiting around to a certain extent longer than necessary, whilst there could (maybe) instead be longer efforts to prepare for transitions more smoothly.

 

[A-driver]

Whilst I fully appreciate that deciding the winner of the franchise is not the easiest process in the world, it strikes me that a decision date as broad as "May", which may in fact mean something as late as 12 June, is unnecessarily vague.

I cannot see an end to speculation amongst staff, rail users etc. in these matters, but it would seem more professional if there was a fixed date for a decision to be made by - preferably within the month stated within documentation, at the very least! Signing such contracts, notifying the Stock Exchange, and so on, are not small tasks, and uncertainty for one-and-a-half months cannot do the prospective bidders or the economy any good, given that it must mean staff waiting around to a certain extent longer than necessary, whilst there could (maybe) instead be longer efforts to prepare for transitions more smoothly.

As I said before, and I have heard more about this from other people so am beginning to come around to this rumour, the decision was due to be announced however first group took out an injunction preventing it from being disclosed. I will stress that this is only rumour but a lot of people at work have heard different things about it and I am not dissmissing it like I do with the majority of rumours.

If this turns out to be along the lines of the true situation here then it's not actually the DfTs fault and they are tied to the legal on goings and will not be able to give a specific date.

 

[CockneySparrow]

"Great Northern"?

Northern Rail have done pretty well from a poor hand, I'd be happy to see them continue (thereby also saving the costs of rebranding).

Northern Rail operate too far north for this line, Great Northern is between Kings Cross and Kings Lynn/Peterborough
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

What happens to people with season tickets marked Southern only after the merger, given Southern won't exist.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

What should happen and probably will happen are two different things

The ticket should still be valid, however I wouldn't be surprised to read new "FCC penalty fared me with a Southern Season" threads on here

 

[SPADTrap]

Whilst I fully appreciate that deciding the winner of the franchise is not the easiest process in the world, it strikes me that a decision date as broad as "May", which may in fact mean something as late as 12 June, is unnecessarily vague.

I cannot see an end to speculation amongst staff, rail users etc. in these matters, but it would seem more professional if there was a fixed date for a decision to be made by - preferably within the month stated within documentation, at the very least! Signing such contracts, notifying the Stock Exchange, and so on, are not small tasks, and uncertainty for one-and-a-half months cannot do the prospective bidders or the economy any good, given that it must mean staff waiting around to a certain extent longer than necessary, whilst there could (maybe) instead be longer efforts to prepare for transitions more smoothly.

As I said, we were briefed that the 12th June is the absolute deadline, thus being a fixed date for it to be made by.

 

[Skimble19]

As I said before, and I have heard more about this from other people so am beginning to come around to this rumour, the decision was due to be announced however first group took out an injunction preventing it from being disclosed. I will stress that this is only rumour but a lot of people at work have heard different things about it and I am not dissmissing it like I do with the majority of rumours.

If this turns out to be along the lines of the true situation here then it's not actually the DfTs fault and they are tied to the legal on goings and will not be able to give a specific date.

The truth is nobody at Hertford House knows for sure yet and neither will they know until May 23rd at the earliest. From what I was briefed it may actually be most likely to be between 23rd May and 2nd June due to the "10 day Cooling Off Period", however the 12th really is the absolute deadline.

If you have a company phone (I presume you do but don't know for sure obviously) then you'll get a text / email as soon as the result is known, they're hoping to tell everyone before the press gets hold of the result. If not if they have a personal email for you it'll go to that.

There are however who knows how many different rumours going around, the latest rather hilarious one I've heard is that a load of new uniforms have been ordered with a green theme.. (That is of course a load of you know what!)

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

most likely to be between 23rd May and 2nd June due to the "10 day Cooling Off Period", however the 12th really is the absolute deadline.

The 10-day standstill comes after the Stock Exchange announcement, not before.
It also means nobody will release details of the winning bid (other than the winner's name) until after the 10-day standstill, which is to allow for potential legal challenges.

 

[A-driver]

The truth is nobody at Hertford House knows for sure yet and neither will they know until May 23rd at the earliest. From what I was briefed it may actually be most likely to be between 23rd May and 2nd June due to the "10 day Cooling Off Period", however the 12th really is the absolute deadline.

If you have a company phone (I presume you do but don't know for sure obviously) then you'll get a text / email as soon as the result is known, they're hoping to tell everyone before the press gets hold of the result. If not if they have a personal email for you it'll go to that.

There are however who knows how many different rumours going around, the latest rather hilarious one I've heard is that a load of new uniforms have been ordered with a green theme.. (That is of course a load of you know what!)

The 'green uniform' rumour comes as a rail enthusiast magazine published an article about govia having signed a deal with a new uniform supplier. The article states that govia run the London midland, southeastern and TSGN franchise and went to print around the time the announcement was due. I don't know which magazine it was but someone has photocopied this article and pinned it up at a couple of our mess rooms. Sort of ties in with the rumour that firsts legal team are involved but. Obviously still just rumours and it may have been a misprint.

 

[Skimble19]

Must admit i had heard about their uniform supplier being changed, although chances are it is probably just a co-incidence that happens to have come at a slightly awkward time.. Or it could be true.. Or it could be a misprint that should have said "Southern", which regardless of whether they win TSGN or not they'll still be operating until next year.

Either way, it won't be long until we find out now!

 

[A-driver]

To be honest, I'm not overly bothered who gets it. If first win it then I'll turn up to work in September and drive trains with a blue polo shirt on. If goahead get it then I'll turn up for work in September and drive trains with a green shirt on. If stage coach win it then I'll turn up in September and drive trains with a blue shirt in or whatever colour they wear...it makes little difference really as generally drivers don't see many changes no matter who is running things.

 

[muddythefish]

To be honest, I'm not overly bothered who gets it. If first win it then I'll turn up to work in September and drive trains with a blue polo shirt on. If goahead get it then I'll turn up for work in September and drive trains with a green shirt on. If stage coach win it then I'll turn up in September and drive trains with a blue shirt in or whatever colour they wear...it makes little difference really as generally drivers don't see many changes no matter who is running things.

Proving that the privatised railway is little more than a rebranding exercise and a farce.

 

[W230]

Proving that the privatised railway is little more than a rebranding exercise and a farce.

No. This is proved in many other ways but not by what colour shirt the driver wears. :roll:

 

[Emyr]

Northern Rail operate too far north for this line, Great Northern is between Kings Cross and Kings Lynn/Peterborough
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


What should happen and probably will happen are two different things

The ticket should still be valid, however I wouldn't be surprised to read new "FCC penalty fared me with a Southern Season" threads on here

I believe these points were addressed on the day they were raised.

 

[pete_m911]

Interesting to note that Govia have appointed a new Thameslink director in the last few days, they are either supremely confident or informed about the outcome... http://companycheck.co.uk/company/07934306/GOVIA-THAMESLINK-RAILWAY-LIMITED/companies-house-docs

 

[Jonny]

Interesting to note that Govia have appointed a new Thameslink director in the last few days, they are either supremely confident or informed about the outcome... http://companycheck.co.uk/company/07934306/GOVIA-THAMESLINK-RAILWAY-LIMITED/companies-house-docs

So, which other director got ^terminated^ then?

 

[jon0844]

So, which other director got ^terminated^ then?

For £4 both questions can be answered it seems.

 

[FenMan]

For £4 both questions can be answered it seems.

Google is my friend:-

14-05-2014
Terminated : Arnaud Van Troeyen
Appointed: Alastair Gordon

French bloke in charge of Keolis business development off the board
Keolis UK MD appointed.

Getting a local negotiator in for the final stretch?

 

[Class377/5]

Just to point that even if Govia lose the bid, Southern will still exist for another 14 months so its not any indication of what's going other than business as normal, especially when you look at how much the TLP affects Southern this year.

 

[Stats]

Just to point that even if Govia lose the bid, Southern will still exist for another 14 months so its not any indication of what's going other than business as normal, especially when you look at how much the TLP affects Southern this year.

Yes, but the appointment is to Govia Thameslink Ltd, the TSGN bid vehicle. He is already a director of Southern Railway Ltd.

 

[ModernRailways]

I read on Twitter earlier - @FirstPlatform (FCCRailFail) - that Go Ahead had won it. It seems the tweet has been deleted now though.

 

[talldave]

As long as the train doesn't catch fire, leaves on time and arrives on time I'm with A-driver in really not minding who wins. All existing rail companies appear equally incompetent at running a service and answering customer enquiries. New blood is desperately needed.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

As long as the train doesn't catch fire, leaves on time and arrives on time I'm with A-driver in really not minding who wins. All existing rail companies appear equally incompetent at running a service and answering customer enquiries. New blood is desperately needed.

Last time we had the musical chairs of First losing Great Eastern to National Express, but then winning Scotrail from National Express.
Similarly Arriva lost Northern Spirit but gained Wales & Borders, etc.
We do not need "more of the same".

 

[EM2]

I read on Twitter earlier - @FirstPlatform (FCCRailFail) - that Go Ahead had won it. It seems the tweet has been deleted now though.

He is a huge anti-First troll, thanks to some vendetta he has against FCC, believing that he was wrongly dismissed. Take everything he says with a bucket of salt.

 

[Saint66]

Sadly, most commuters will be expecting a sudden improvement in the service if another TOC wins the franchise, but in reality, it's not that attainable straight away.

There's not much a TOC can do when Network Rail's infrastructure lets them (Overhead wire problems being the concern of most TL commuters at the moment)

TL is going to be very tough for any new TOC, especially with the upgrade programme still underway.