Transport User Voice – June 2018 – You and your train company

23 May 2018

East Coast Partnership

The Secretary of State for Transport has announced that the Virgin Trains East Coast contract (VTEC) will end on 24 June 2018 and transfer to an Operator of Last Resort (OLR).

Passengers are advised that all tickets will still be valid on the services and trains will continue to run as normal. Information about future London North Eastern Railway (LNER) services and frequently asked questions can be found here.

The decision was based on the desire to ease the transition to a new East Coast Partnership in 2020 following a franchise competition and in the hope that some benefits may be introduced early.

A new board with an independent chair will oversee the operation of the LNER route.

We will continue to keep current and future passenger priorities at the heart of discussions as work on LNER and the East Coast Partnership progresses.

Wales and Borders rail service to be run by KeolisAmey

The contract to run future Wales and Borders rail services has been awarded to KeolisAmey.

Passengers in Wales and the borders will be pleased to hear that a decision has been made and will now look forward to promised improvements. In our research passengers told us that their top priorities are reliable services on which they can get a seat and are good value for money.

We’ll be looking to see that passengers are kept  well informed and given clear timescales for improvements.

Future CrossCountry services

What do CrossCountry passengers think of their service?

Transport Focus will be out and about presenting the passenger view alongside the Department for Transport (DfT) at various CrossCountry franchise events across the network over the coming weeks.

We have been meeting with the DfT to share our research about key passenger issues on the CrossCountry route, as well as priorities for the future.

A public consultation will be launched shortly to gather passengers’ views on the future of CrossCountry services. The new franchise is due to start in December 2019. Feedback from this consultation will help create new services which better meet passenger needs.

West Coast Partnership

Following the publication of the Invitation to Tender last month we have been meet with the shortlisted bidders (MTR, Stagecoach and First Trenitalia). We’ve been sharing passengers’ top priorities for improvement for the West Coast Partnership and HS2.

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