87-586: InterCity West Coast (ICWC) was a 1997–2019 railway franchise in the United Kingdom for passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line (and branches thereof), between London Euston , the West Midlands , North Wales , Liverpool , Manchester , Carlisle , Edinburgh , Glasgow , and other major destinations between. The franchise was formed during the privatisation of British Rail and transferred to
174-447: A concession instead. Concession holders are paid a fee to run the service, which is usually tightly specified by the awarding authority. They do not take commercial risk, although there are usually penalties and rewards specified in the contract for large variations in performance. The South Yorkshire Supertram was previously operated under a concession by Stagecoach , but since March 2024 it has been taken back into public control by
261-511: A chance to explore the matter. Virgin had offered to run the line on a 'not for profit' basis while this took place. Despite public and political pressure for an independent review of the deal, the DfT declared it would not delay the signing of the contract once the ten-day standstill period had expired. On 28 August, Virgin Trains announced it would seek a judicial review of the franchise decision, preventing
348-504: A fee under a management contract. In May 2021, the public body was named as Great British Railways . On 20 September 2020, the first set of EMAs expired. They were replaced in most cases by Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs) with durations of between six and 18 months; under these the Department for Transport (DfT) continued to receive the revenue and pay most of the train operating companies' costs. There are some exceptions to
435-553: A few colour lights too. Crewe Junction, on the north end of the station, accommodates around 120 levers and is of the same design as Severn Bridge Junction. The other Shrewsbury signal boxes are at Abbey Foregate (to a GWR design), controlling the eastern corner of the triangle and Sutton Bridge Junction where the Aberystwyth line diverges from the Hereford line (the now closed Severn Valley Railway to Bridgnorth and Hartlebury also left
522-565: A final report in March 2016. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic , on 23 March 2020 the UK government took emergency measures which suspended all passenger rail franchise agreements for six months. Passenger numbers had already dropped by 70% by that date, leading to a significant drop in the income of the operating companies, which responded by cancelling and reconfiguring services. The government agreed with
609-505: A finalised agreement. By the end of 2002, the SRA had also changed its policy on Franchising Agreements to introduce various other performance criteria in addition to keeping to the PSR, aimed at raising the overall quality of passenger journeys. Franchise lengths would be kept to between five and eight years, but extensions would be permitted if Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were met. It also changed
696-474: A management fee of up to 2% of their pre-pandemic costs. In September, the government extended the EMAs by 18 months and announced plans to end the system of rail franchising, instead moving to a concession-based model, as already operated by Merseyrail , TfL Rail and London Overground . This would see all aspects of the service set by a new public body, with each operation run by a private company who would receive
783-573: A process managed by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising , which specified service levels and public subsidies that were to be paid to operators. The legislation allowed BR to bid for franchises, if the DPRF agreed, but in practice he never did. Under the original 1993 legislation, the Franchise Director set out the minimum service levels of a franchise in a Passenger Service Requirement (PSR), being
870-733: A re-tendering. Agreements also contain a cross-default clause, which allows other franchises also held by the company or an affiliate to be terminated. Rail franchise holders in Great Britain accept commercial risk, although there are clauses in newer franchises which offer some compensation for lower-than-expected revenue (and also claw back some excess profits, should these occur). The main costs incurred by franchisees are track access charges (paid to Network Rail); other significant costs come from staffing, leasing stations (from NR) and rolling stock (from ROSCOs ). Franchisees also pay for light maintenance of stock, with heavy work being done as part of
957-524: A report commissioned by Virgin Rail Group, detailing concerns with the franchising evaluation process, was handed to the DfT. An e-petition was created to urge the government to reconsider its decision and to debate the bids in the House of Commons. The petition was set up independently, but backed by Virgin, and attracted large support, gaining 50,000 signatures within two days. The 100,000 signatures required for
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#17328440923751044-656: A review, which was published in January 2011. As a result, they reformed the system further to increase operators' flexibility, with greater incentives for cost reduction by operators, and franchise terms dealt with on a case-by-case approach. They extended the standard franchise term to between 15 and 22.5 years (with shorter terms where expedient), ending the Cap and Collar approach to risk which provided for risk-sharing with government regarding future demand, and introducing profit sharing and review points. The new system, to be applied first with
1131-561: A role in long-term planning and a statutory right to consultation over franchises in their areas. In London, the Act required the DfT to consult Transport for London on any franchise with services to, from or within London. In July 2007, these powers were extended, with measures designed to protect those outside London, with the DfT as the arbiter of disputes. In October 2007, the European Union set
1218-427: A route named "The Dana". All platforms are fitted with CIS screens and automatic announcement speakers and there are customer help points on platforms 3 and 4. A Starbucks , toilets , and vending machines selling snacks and drinks are sited between platforms 4 and 7. As of November 2024, a small cafe has opened on the first floor of the main station building before the ticket gates. Ticket gates are in operation at
1305-537: A single franchise in Great Eastern , were a minority partner in GWH. Their March 1998 buyout of the other GWH partners increased their total to three. In the end, most of the franchises were awarded for lengths from 7 to 7 and a half years. Only seven franchises were longer – two for 10 years (Great Western and Midland Mainline), and five for 15 years (LTS, Gatwick Express, South Eastern, Cross Country and West Coast). Only one
1392-449: A southerly direction from platform 3. An upper quadrant signal replaced the previous shunting disc and a facing point lock was added to the points. Though the track layout could already accommodate this, until the lock was added only non-passenger movements southbound from platform 3 could be made. There are five platforms in use, numbered 3 to 7 (platforms 1 and 2 have been disused since the 1980s and have no track; around 2019 platform 2
1479-549: A timetable for the letting of 9 franchises in three tranches. These long-term plans were disrupted in 2001/2 by the impact of the Hatfield rail crash , which led to the nationalisation of Railtrack , the owner of the railway infrastructure, to create Network Rail . On 1 February 2001, the position of Franchising Director was abolished by the Transport Act 2000 and the passenger rail franchising functions were formally transferred to
1566-479: Is awarded by Transport for Wales . Prior to formally tendering a specific franchise, the DfT publishes a Prior Information Notice (PIN) outlining the basic details, and opens a consultation with relevant transport authorities, devolved administrations and the Transport Focus watchdog. At the end of this process, a formal Invitation To Tender (ITT) setting out the detailed terms of the proposed franchise agreement
1653-448: Is monitored throughout the contract period. In contrast to earlier bail-outs, following the 2004 changes in approach to cost/revenue risk, unless there are exceptional circumstances, the DfT's policy toward failing franchises is not to rescue them with further financial assistance. Instead, DfT will hold them to the agreement and terminate the franchise early, and then run the franchise directly as an operator of last resort (OOLR), pending
1740-407: Is sent to the three to five prospective bidders who have been identified as pre-qualified. ITT's may include a range of variations for consideration by the prospective bidder, who may also submit variations themselves. The franchise is awarded to the bid which is deemed most viable, and which offers the best value and reliability. If relevant, bidders' past performance is also considered. Performance
1827-507: Is set to remain lever operated for the foreseeable future. As a result of Shrewsbury's joint ( GWR / LNWR ) history, and having been transferred at different times between the Western and London Midland regions of BR and more recently Network Rail – it is now in the Great Western territory again – the signalling is a diverse mixture of lower-quadrant and upper-quadrant semaphore signals, with
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#17328440923751914-460: Is the system of contracting the operation of the passenger services on the railways of Great Britain to private companies, which has been in effect since 1996 and was greatly altered in 2020, with rail franchising being effectively abolished in May 2021. The system was created as part of the privatisation of British Rail , the former state-owned railway operator, and involved franchises being awarded by
2001-489: Is unusual, in that the station was extended between 1899 and 1903 by the construction of a new floor underneath the original station building. The building style was imitation Tudor, complete with carvings of Tudor style heads around the window frames. This was done to match the Tudor building of Shrewsbury School (now Shrewsbury Library ) almost directly opposite and uphill from the station. The station's platforms also extend over
2088-583: Is visible from platform 7.) It is believed that this platform was only used a few times each year between 1868 up until just before the First World War . All of the services above are operated by Class 150s , Class 153s , Class 158s or Class 197s , except the Premier Service which is operated by a Class 67 and Mark 4 coaching stock. Prior to the June 2024 timetable change, Avanti West Coast operated
2175-567: The Cambrian Coast Express . Until 1967, Shrewsbury was served by the GWR, latterly BR Western Region, express services between London Paddington and Birkenhead Woodside . The station was given Grade II listed status in May 1969; this applies to the main building on Castle Foregate, adjacent to platform 3. Arwel Hughes composed Tydi a roddaist ( You gave ) in 20 minutes during a wait between train connections in 1938. A plaque to mark this
2262-549: The Big Four railway companies that had existed before the creation of British Rail. The Treasury advocated an alternative plan put forward by the Adam Smith Institute which separated railway infrastructure from train service operation and contracted out passenger services to seven-year franchises. This scheme formed the basis of the system which was implemented, which saw the creation of 25 shadow franchises, to be sold off in
2349-407: The Director of Passenger Rail Franchising awarded a 15-year franchise to Virgin Rail Group, with Virgin Trains commencing operations on 9 March 1997. In order for tilting trains to be operated, Railtrack was committed to upgrade the West Coast Main Line to allow 140 mph operation by 2005. In the wake of the collapse of Railtrack and the inability of its successor Network Rail to deliver
2436-467: The InterCity West Coast bid, also took a less prescriptive approach to service specification and introduced measures to tackle crowding and changes to the way quality measurement was approached. Because of the increased future risks carried by operators, the government required a large financial surety to discourage early contract default. In 2012 the franchising system essentially collapsed in
2523-758: The July 2024 general election , it was announced that franchises would be gradually phased out as train operating companies are taken into public ownership. The new government also confirmed that they would continue with the previous Conservative government's plans to set up Great British Railways , a publicly-owned company that will own and manage most railway infrastructure across Great Britain, taking over from Network Rail . GBR will assume responsibility for passenger services as they return to public ownership , gradually reunifying them under one entity and reintegrating them with infrastructure management. Shrewsbury railway station Shrewsbury railway station serves
2610-788: The River Severn . It was operated jointly by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). At Shrewsbury in steam days, the GWR regularly turned its locomotives by running round the triangle formed by using the Abbey Foregate loop, which links the Wolverhampton Line with the Welsh Marches Line and enables through running for freight trains, summer Saturday specials and formerly for trains like
2697-462: The Scottish Government . The 2005 Act also gave local and devolved administrations the ability to alter fares up or down, provided they funded the extra cost, or used the savings on other transport modes. In a move designed to make them accountable for their decisions in this new role, English passenger transport executives were no longer direct parties to franchise agreements, instead gaining
InterCity West Coast - Misplaced Pages Continue
2784-502: The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority . An open-access operator is a train operating company that is not subject to franchising or concessions, but instead purchases individual train paths from a railway infrastructure company such as Network Rail . These operators include Eurostar , Grand Central , Heathrow Express , Hull Trains , Lumo and Pre Metro Operations (providing a shuttle service on
2871-647: The Stourbridge Town branch line ). Prior to privatisation, the passenger services of British Rail were organised into three units: They then underwent further reorganisation in preparation for franchising, being split up into 25 train operating units (TOUs) that were gradually incorporated as separate businesses. These operated as 'shadow franchises' that negotiated contracts individually with regulators, Railtrack (the infrastructure and major station owner) and ROSCOs (the rolling stock leasing companies) before being sold off in 1996 and 1997. The franchising system
2958-452: The Department of Transport's Railways Directorate. Since this would take time as it involved legislation, in the meantime the SRA was established in 'shadow' form, in June 1999. Part of their brief was to ensure the railways operated as "a coherent network, not merely a collection of different franchises". Their goals were closely aligned with the government's wider objectives, set out in July 2000 as
3045-488: The DfT announced that Virgin had been granted a franchise extension until 8 December 2012, and in January 2012 issued the Final Invitation to Tender to the shortlisted bidders. On 15 August 2012, the DfT announced FirstGroup as the successful bidder for the franchise, promising 11 new six-carriage electric trains, direct services to Blackpool in 2013, and to Telford , Shrewsbury and Bolton in 2016. On 10 August 2012
3132-463: The Heart of Wales Line and local stopping trains to Birmingham New Street . The island platforms are connected to the main station building and platform 3 by a pedestrian subway running underneath the station. A pedestrian footbridge over the platforms still exists but has long been disconnected from the station; instead, it is a public walkway allowing pedestrians to cross over the station area, and part of
3219-530: The ROSCO lease. The main revenue stream is from fares, supplemented by the franchise subsidy in cases where there is a shortfall. In addition, franchisees are allowed to sub-let commercial units directly in leased stations. The following National Rail Contracts are operated by private companies. The following National Rail Contracts are operated by the UK, Welsh or Scottish governments. A small number of urban railway systems are not franchised but are contracted out as
3306-553: The SRA. The SRA began to doubt its new long-term strategy as it failed to negotiate a 20-year franchise for the East Coast due to uncertainty over Railtack's ability to finance planned upgrades, and abandoned bidding negotiations in July 2001 after 21 months. Instead it elected for a short 2-year extension, hoping the situation would be clearer by then. Short-term extensions were also to be considered for other 7-year franchise renegotiations facing similar issues, which had not yet reached
3393-547: The West Coast could be rerun. In December 2012, Virgin was awarded a 23-month management contract until November 2014. In March 2013 the Secretary of State for Transport announced negotiations with Virgin to extend the franchise until 31 March 2017; these were concluded in June 2014. In 2016 the franchise was again extended and in 2018 there was a further extension to March 2019, with an option for up to an additional year. This option
3480-456: The approach to risks in costs and revenues, and introduced incentive payments for performance and long term investment. The changes took effect after the awards for the Transpennine and Wales & Borders franchises, which were already too advanced. The tendering process was also simplified, giving more details up front in order to speed up the process and make bid assessment more robust. Through
3567-497: The bidding process and the open access operators. In July 2015 it identified four possible areas for reform: an increased role for open access operators, having two successful bidders for each franchise, having more overlapping franchises and having multiple operators with licences on each route. The regulator (by then renamed the Office of Rail & Road ) evaluated the CMA's options, leading to
InterCity West Coast - Misplaced Pages Continue
3654-472: The companies that passengers holding advance tickets would be able to get a full refund. Under the Emergency Measure Agreements (EMA), which were backdated to 1 March, the normal financial mechanisms of the franchise agreements were suspended so that operating companies would not get into financial difficulty. All revenue would be paid to the government, who would pay the operators' costs plus
3741-476: The contract being signed, claiming civil servants had "got their maths wrong with FirstGroup". The DfT responded, stating that they were confident the selection process was robust. In September 2012, the DfT began making arrangements for the franchise to pass temporarily to West Coast Main Line Limited, a subsidiary of Directly Operated Railways , in the event that a judicial review was granted. On 3 October 2012,
3828-552: The costs of bids before any contracts were signed. With the franchise awarded in 1997 scheduled to end on 31 March 2012, the DfT started the refranchising process in January 2011 by inviting expressions of interest in the Official Journal of the European Union for a 14-year franchise to run from 1 April 2012 to March 2026. The award of the franchise was stated to be based on the "most economically advantageous tender in terms of
3915-402: The criteria as stated in the specifications". The franchise was the first to be offered under a new scheme rather than the previous "Cap and Collar" system, which provided for risk-sharing with government regarding future demand. The new scheme was intended to provide greater incentives for cost reduction by operators. Because of the increased future risks carried by operators under the new scheme,
4002-623: The current BR timetable in the case of the first sell-offs, and put this out to competitive tender. Winning bidders were decided on a pure cost basis – those who offered to pay the highest premium, or receive lowest subsidy, would run the franchise. Once signed, franchise agreements could only be terminated under certain conditions, namely not meeting the PSR, although fines were available as an intermediate step. The Treasury had initially envisaged franchises to be around 3 years long, to promote sustained competition, however as it became clear that potential buyers were not interested in such short terms, it
4089-521: The entrance to platforms 4 to 7, with the nearby ticket office staffed throughout the week. Self-service ticket machines are also available for buying tickets or collecting tickets for pre-booked journeys. Opposite platform 7 is a high wall that divides the rest of the station from what could be considered to be platform 8. This platform does not see any use and was built for the use of transporting prisoners from HM Prison Shrewsbury . (The prison gateway, surmounted by bust of prison reformer John Howard ,
4176-455: The failed competition, led by Sam Laidlaw of Centrica, with Ed Smith, both on the Board of the DfT; and the second led by Richard Brown of Eurostar , to investigate the wider franchise system. Three civil servants were suspended. During September 2012 the newly appointed Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin , had been warned of potential issues. On 2 October, he decided to cancel
4263-412: The failure of the West Coast competition, having made several errors in its financial modelling. The Brown report, published in January 2013, found no fundamental flaws in the bidding process but made recommendations for improvements. In October 2012, the DfT announced that Virgin Trains would continue to operate the franchise for between 9 and 13 months until a short-term interim franchise competition for
4350-504: The first privately run service, which ironically was a rail replacement bus service covering the early morning Fishguard to Cardiff journey in South Wales, due to engineering works. As the program progressed, all franchises had been awarded and commenced by 1 April 1997, the last being ScotRail . OPRAF was initially criticised for taking too long, but answered that most of the delays were outside of their control, and were indeed caused by
4437-661: The first time since privatisation that a TOC had been bought by another TOC. The Railways Act 2005 abolished the SRA and transferred the responsibility for franchises in England and Wales directly to the government through the Secretary of State for Transport , with the Welsh Government being given a direct role over services in Wales. Responsibility for the ScotRail franchise was passed to
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#17328440923754524-573: The following few years, most franchises were renewed as Direct Awards, in part to achieve the smoothing-out of the schedule recommended by Brown. Following the pause for the Brown report, the system resumed in 2013; the DfT published a revised timetable in March 2013, with the first tender being concluded in May, the direct award for the Essex Thameside franchise. In 2014, the DfT was re-organised, with responsibility for rail franchising becoming part of
4611-521: The franchise award. The DfT had been due in the High Court on 3 October 2012 to respond to a judicial review sought by Virgin Rail Group. On 5 October 2012, one of the three suspended civil servants, Kate Mingay, released a statement to correct the reporting of her role in the franchising process. She began legal proceedings against the DfT over her suspension, with a High Court hearing on 29 November 2012 rejecting her claim to have her suspension lifted. It
4698-475: The franchises they won being closely related ( South Central and South Eastern for Connex, CrossCountry and West Coast for Virgin, and Mersey Electrics and North East for MTL). Stagecoach also won two, although the second was the tiny Island Line , which would eventually be merged with their main win, South West Trains . Great Western Holdings also won two, on opposite sides of the country – Great Western and North Western ; FirstGroup , who had won
4785-531: The government allayed these fears in 2009. Passenger Rail Franchising has been examined by the National Audit Office and a report was published on 15 October 2008. In response to continuing criticism, changes in how franchises were agreed and monitored continued; by 2010 agreements contained penalties for failure to increase reliability, and the number of KPIs had been reduced. The coalition government elected in May 2010 paused re-franchising pending
4872-449: The government announced it was cancelling the franchise competition after discovering significant technical flaws in the bidding process, thus cancelling the decision to award it to FirstGroup. It was stated that civil servants had made significant mistakes in the way in which the risks for each bid had been calculated, leading to too little default surety being required of bidders. Two independent inquiries were announced; one to investigate
4959-404: The government itself. The first four franchise competitions only attracted four bidders each, well below government expectations, although competition increased as the program went on and investors gained more surety over the way the system was to operate as a whole. Ultimately, although there were 25 franchises, the eventual buyers came from only 13 different companies. Many were bus companies, with
5046-426: The government required a large financial surety to discourage early contract default. In March 2011, the DfT shortlisted Abellio , FirstGroup , Keolis / SNCF and Virgin Rail Group to bid for the franchise, which would run for up to 15 years. In May 2011, a Draft Invitation to Tender was issued to the shortlisted bidders, which stated the franchise start date had been postponed until 9 December 2012. In October 2011,
5133-416: The government to train operating companies (TOCs) through a process of competitive tendering. Franchises usually lasted for a minimum of seven years and covered a defined geographic area or service type; by design, franchises were not awarded on an exclusive basis, and day-to-day competition with other franchises and open access operators was possible, albeit occurring on a limited number of services. Over
5220-558: The hoped-for interest from airlines and shipping groups failing to be converted into solid bids. In addition, despite several bids, due to difficulties in raising finance, only three bids from management buyout groups had been successful. National Express was the winner of the most franchises, with five ( Gatwick Express , Midland Mainline , North London , Central Trains and ScotRail ). Prism Rail came next, with four ( LTS , Wales & West , Valley Lines and WAGN ). Connex , Virgin Rail Group and MTL all captured two each, with
5307-479: The introduction of the Direct Award concept, whereby the government can award a franchise that is up for renewal directly to the incumbent rather than through a tendering process, but only if the operator's proposed terms match the government's projected expectations of future performance based on its past record. If a reasonable contract cannot be drawn up through negotiation, the franchise is then re-let as normal. In
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#17328440923755394-782: The main line there). Two other boxes at Crewe Bank and Harlescott Crossing (slightly further on towards Crewe) were both abolished (and subsequently removed) in October 2013, when the Crewe line had its signalling replaced by a new modular system controlled from the South Wales Rail Operating Centre in Cardiff. The former box had been "switched out" of use for several years previously and had been proposed for abolition by Network Rail back in 2009. In Autumn 2010 changes were made to allow Cambrian and Welsh Marches line trains to depart in
5481-479: The maximum length of a rail franchise at 22.5 years: 15 years initially, with a 50% extension in certain circumstances. By 2007 the Labour government was happy with how the franchise system was leading to improvements in customer satisfaction and better trains, crediting TOC's use of their freedoms under the system to deliver passenger growth. The 2008 recession sparked fears over franchisees' ability to survive, although
5568-524: The new Office of Rail Passenger Services's remit under an externally recruited chief, the ORPS itself being part of a new Rail Executive within the DfT. In January 2015, as part of its statutory duty to promote competition, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) launched a policy review to determine if there were opportunities to improve the current system outside the established areas of competition, namely
5655-497: The outcome of the Brown review. It was published in January 2013, and concluded there were no fundamental flaws in the system, but made 11 recommendations on how it could be improved. One recommendation was to spread out the re-franchising schedule to avoid bunching, which the government acted upon in committing to holding no more than four competitions per year, and staggering the East and West coast awards. Another of Brown's recommendations
5742-592: The petition to be considered for debate in Parliament was exceeded. The matter was debated in Westminster Hall on 17 September 2012. Following the public's response to Virgin's loss of the franchise, Louise Ellman , Chair of the Transport Select Committee , wrote to the then Secretary of State for Transport , Justine Greening , asking her to delay the signing of the new contract until the committee had
5829-537: The private sector on 9 March 1997, when Virgin Trains commenced operations. It was due to be re-let in December 2012, with FirstGroup announced as the winning bidder; this decision was later reversed after the discovery of irregularities in the franchise letting process. In December 2012, Virgin Trains was awarded an extension to continue to run the franchise until November 2014, which was extended in several increments until December 2019. The InterCity West Coast franchise
5916-513: The rail franchising policy. Emergency arrangements (which effectively convert the franchises into concessions) remain until it legislates for a replacement to the system, likely to be a permanent concession system as is already in place in some urban areas. The system only covers the railways of Great Britain (including the Isle of Wight ); the railways in Northern Ireland are owned and operated by
6003-859: The signalling and track now allow additional passenger trains (those coming in from and going out to the Hereford , Heart of Wales and Cambrian lines) to use platform 3. A passenger lift was opened on the platform in 2009 and a waiting room opened shortly after. A lift has also been built for access to platforms 4–7, making the station fully accessible for wheelchair and mobility-impaired users. Platforms 4 and 7 are through platforms, usually used for trains between Holyhead (via Chester and Wrexham General ) and Cardiff Central / Birmingham International and between Manchester Piccadilly (via Crewe ) and Cardiff Central , Carmarthen , and Milford Haven . Platforms 5 and 6 are bay platforms, used mainly for trains to and from Aberystwyth and Birmingham, as well as trains for
6090-530: The standard pattern: In a further move away from franchising, in December DfT agreed a directly awarded National Rail Contract with South Western Railway to run for at least two years following the end of its emergency agreement in April 2021, similarly with Avanti West Coast for at least four years from April 2022, and GWR for three years from June 2022. Following the election of the new Labour government in
6177-512: The state-owned company NI Railways . Railway franchises are decided by the UK Government's Department for Transport (DfT), who design the boundaries and terms of service, and award contracts to the train operating companies. Under the devolved administration arrangements, franchises for ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper are awarded by Transport Scotland and the Wales & Borders franchise
6264-401: The ten-year plan, Transport 2010 . In 2000 the shadow SRA announced plans to use the re-franchising of the 18 shorter term (7-year) franchises expiring by 2004 to make various changes aimed at improving service grouping and lengthening franchises, with the aim of making them more robust and better able to invest in services. It aimed to have these proposals agreed by Autumn 2001, and published
6351-464: The town of Shrewsbury , in Shropshire , England . Built in 1848, it was designated a grade II listed building in 1969. The station is 43 miles (69 km) north-west of Birmingham New Street . Many services starting at or passing through the station are bound for Wales , and it is a key hub for its operator, Transport for Wales ; services are also provided by West Midlands Railway . The station
6438-456: The upgrade, the franchise was suspended in favour of a management contract in July 2002. After projected costs greatly increased from £2.5 billion to £10 billion, there were cutbacks to the upgrade and the top speed was reduced to 125 mph. During 2011 and 2012 the Department for Transport (DfT) conducted a franchise competition, announced a winner, then cancelled the competition and refunded
6525-490: The use of tactical short-term extensions, the SRA planned to achieve the changes in franchise redesign and smooth out the timetable for re-franchising, aiming for two or three awards per year. In February 2002, the Chiltern franchise became the first to be awarded for a 20-year duration, the winning bidder being Chiltern Railways , the incumbent franchisee since privatisation. In August 2003, FirstGroup purchased GB Railways ,
6612-582: The wake of the West Coast controversy (see below). As a result of the crisis, the government commissioned two inquiries, an inquiry to look into the cause of the West Coast failure, undertaken by Sam Laidlaw , and a review undertaken by Richard Brown of the wider franchise system. The Laidlaw report was published in December 2012, and found the DfT to be primarily responsible for the West Coast failure, having made several errors in its financial modelling. All three outstanding franchise competitions – Great Western, Essex Thameside and Thameslink – were paused pending
6699-400: The years, the system evolved, most notably reducing the initial 25 franchises to 17 through a series of mergers. Seven franchises are currently in public ownership under the operator of last resort arrangement. The Government initially suspended rail franchising in order to maintain service as passenger demand fell due to the COVID-19 pandemic , but on 21 September 2020 permanently abolished
6786-544: Was announced in 1995 that franchises would be around 5 to 7 years long, or longer if major investment was required. The first franchise agreements to be signed were for the South West and Great Western franchises, on 19 and 20 December 1995 respectively. The first passenger train service operated by a privatised franchise was the South West Trains 05:10 Twickenham to Waterloo on 4 February 1996, although this came after
6873-436: Was announced on 6 December 2012 that all three of the suspended civil servants, including Mingay, would return to work. The government decided it would reimburse the four bidders for all costs incurred. This amounted to £39.7 million with a further £4.9 million paid to FirstGroup as reimbursement for mobilisation costs incurred. The Laidlaw report was published in December 2012, and found the DfT to be primarily responsible for
6960-542: Was created by the Railways Act 1993 as part of the privatisation of British Rail by the Government of John Major , and the first franchises came into effect in 1996. Prior to this, the railway system had been owned and operated by the government-owned corporation British Rail (BR), which has since been wound up. Prime Minister John Major envisaged splitting up the railways and returning ownership to an equivalent of
7047-459: Was dismantled). Of these, platforms 4 to 7 are grouped on a main island, while platforms 1 to 3 are separate, located by the main station building. The platforms are numbered in order from west ( Shrewsbury Castle side) to east (The Dana side) from 1 to 7. Platform 3 was until recently only used by trains running in from the Wolverhampton direction and out towards Chester. Changes made in 2010 to
7134-458: Was formerly known as Shrewsbury General and is the only remaining railway station in the town; others, including Shrewsbury Abbey , have long since closed. Shrewsbury railway station was originally built in October 1848 for the county's first railway, the Shrewsbury to Chester Line . The architect was Thomas Mainwaring Penson of Oswestry and the contractor was Thomas Brassey . The building
7221-524: Was shorter, the 5 year award for Island Line. The Labour government elected in 1997 chose not to reverse the privatisation process, although they set out a number of reform proposals, including the setting up of a new Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), whose functions would absorb the responsibilities of the Franchising Director, as well as some duties previously performed by the Rail Regulator and
7308-488: Was superseded on 8 December 2019 by the West Coast Partnership , currently operated by Avanti West Coast . As of March 2017, these were the services offered: The initial franchise was contested by Sea Containers , Stagecoach and Virgin Rail Group . Each submitted two bids, one based on an all tilting train fleet, and another based on a combination of conventional and tilting trains. On 19 February 1997,
7395-556: Was taken up by the DfT in December 2018, thereby extending the contract for a period potentially up to March 2020. In November 2016, the government announced that the InterCity West Coast franchise would be replaced by the West Coast Partnership . Avanti West Coast commenced operating the franchise on 9 December 2019. Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain
7482-433: Was the breaking up of the standard franchise period into two terms: an initial term of between 7 and 10 years, followed by an automatic extension of a further 3 to 5 years, should performance criteria have been met (but also possibly being granted if they weren't, to dissuade abuse by under-performing TOCs). It also recommended further transfer of powers to local and devolved administrations. The West Coast controversy led to
7569-445: Was unveiled on platform 3 in 2004. Severn Bridge Junction signal box , at the south east end of the station and built by the LNWR , is the largest surviving mechanical signal box in the world, with a frame accommodating 180 levers, and is a listed building . Whilst the line beyond Abbey Foregate signal box to Wolverhampton has been updated to electronic signalling , Shrewsbury itself
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