Arriva pulls out of next Franchise bidding

[Heathblue]

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/busines..._Click_FBshare

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I thought the WAG were going take control of the railways and run it themselves ?
Making it a better service, no delays, no strikes, cheaper fairs and to run at a profit. It is to be a blueprint or rather a redprint for Corbyns nationalisation of the railways.

It will be an interesting experiment - and if the WAG delivers on their promises then we should all get a better, cheaper and more reliable service that wont see our railways being run by a German company - whose profits go to Germany.

Im all for it - if it works - which enough people have said it will.

There are 3 bidders for the franchise. I'm presuming that, because transport issues won't be entirely devolved until 2018, that awarding the franchise still falls under current law from Westminster, even if the Welsh Government will be awarding the franchise.

The reasons for ATW pulling out early (as opposed to late) could be interesting if divulged. Wales is crippled by the worst rolling stock of any rail franchise in the UK and a network that badly needs upgrading if significant improvements are to be had. Whoever takes over the new franchise are going to have huge problems to correct that won't come cheap. Mistakes made when the current franchise was awarded in 2003 are coming home to roost.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Have you ever thought the reason why companies dont invest in newer rolling stock ?

I would guess that it is because there simply arent the commuters travelling to justify the spend, whereas maybe in the south east they have lots of customers and those customers have money - which is why they have got new rolling stock

I hinted at this in my post when I said that whoever takes over the new franchise are going to have huge problems to correct that won't come cheap.

Ultimately, it's the responsibility of the Welsh Government to get a franchise that maximizes public spend. Profits don't get reinvested, so a franchise has to be developed that doesn't allow for huge profits and prioritises newer rolling stock and better timetables. Sadly, franchises don't encourage this, they encourage huge profits for doing as little as possible (unless government money is being spent).

Newer rolling stock is a good investment in the long term. More reliable scheduling also has to be a priority. These help profits eventually.

[Gofer Blue]

What competition does ATW have?