Passenger Voice August 2016: You and your train company

29 July 2016

Bidder withdraws from West Midlands competition

MTR Corporation has withdrawn its bid for the next West Midlands franchise.

The franchise, currently operated by London Midland is due to end in October 2017. The Department for Transport (DfT) is running a competition to find a new operator from that date.

The two remaining shortlisted bidders are:

• London and West Midlands Railway Ltd, a subsidiary of Govia Ltd (a joint venture between Keolis and Go-Ahead Group)
• West Midlands Trains Ltd, currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Abellio Transport Group Ltd with East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui & Co Ltd as minority partners.

South Western consultation responses

The DfT has issued a stakeholder briefing document. This summarises the responses to the consultation into the future of rail services in the South West which ran between November 2015 and February 2016.

The Invitation to Tender setting out what the department wants bidders to provide for passengers in the next franchise has now also been published.

West Coast consultation closes

The DfT consultation into the future of rail services on the West Coast closes on 2 August. Don’t forget to have your say on West Coast services.

Wales and Borders stakeholder event

In July, Transport for Wales held an engagement event in Shrewsbury. The event was a good opportunity to provide further information about the next Wales and Borders franchise and to hear the views of stakeholders. We presented highlights of our research on passengers’ top priorities for future Wales and Borders services

We expect further events to be held and will share any details in future editions of Passenger Voice.

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