A good commentary of one of the HS1 trains stuck in the tunnel this morning by @garethhector #southeastern http://setra.in/s/vd #hatetravel
Tag: southeastern
Southeastern Franchise no public consultation and continuation if awarded would be at the price agreed in 2005
Southeastern could find that its franchise will be extended to cover the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2014 with no public consultation.
Also if it is awarded then it would be at the price agreed in 2005 potentially costing the taxpayer even more.
Thanks to @hsdeal for finding this:
From www.publications.parliament.uk
Southeastern: Franchises
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) by what date he expects to take a decision on the extension of the Southeastern rail franchise by a further two years as provided for under the Integrated Kent Franchise; [33333]
(2) whether he plans to undertake a public consultation before deciding whether to extend the Southeastern rail franchise by a further two years. [33334]
Mrs Villiers [holding answer 17 January 2011]: The Southeastern Continuation Review period under the Integrated Kent franchise agreement ended on 12 December 2010. The Department for Transport is currently reviewing Southeastern’s performance against the review criteria and the Secretary of State expects to notify the operator of the outcome in due course.
The Secretary of State will not be undertaking a public consultation. The terms of the franchise agreed by the previous Administration require the Secretary of
18 Jan 2011 : Column 665W
State to offer an additional two years to Southeastern, at the price agreed in 2005, if it passes the Continuation Review.Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the future of the Integrated Kent Franchise; and if he will make a statement. [33904]
Mrs Villiers: The franchise contract agreed with Southeastern by the previous administration includes a Continuation Review. The terms of the franchise provide that if the targets contained in the Continuation Review are met by Southeastern, the Department for Transport is obliged to offer the train operator a two year extension of its franchise to cover the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2014.
The Continuation Review period ended on 12 December 2010. Department for Transport officials are currently assessing Southeastern’s performance against the review criteria and an announcement on the outcome will be made in due course.
© Parliamentary material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO on behalf of Parliament. Licence No: P2011000006
Written answers in House of Commons about Southeastern Franchise
The following is a set of Written Answers in the House of Commons dated 20 Dec 2010.
It contains details of some of the figures being used in determining if SouthEastern retain their franchise when it’s up for a two year extension in 2012.
The original document is available this section is a long way down that page.
London and South Eastern Railways: Franchises
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the performance of Southeastern in discharging its obligations under its franchise agreement. [30738]
20 Dec 2010 : Column 999W
Mrs Villiers: Department for Transport Officials monitor Southeastern’s performance against the contract on a four weekly basis. This review includes operational performance and the delivery of committed obligations.
The Southeastern franchise agreement is currently due to end on 31 March 2012, though the option does exist for a two year extension to the agreement to allow the franchise to end on 31 March 2014. In order for Southeastern to be offered that two year extension, they must pass a performance based continuation review. That review period concluded on 12 December 2010 and the Secretary of State expects to notify the operator of the outcome early in the new year.
London and South Eastern Railways: Standards
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of rail services run by Southeastern was subject to a delay of over 10 minutes in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010. [30735]
Mrs Villiers: The information requested is given in the following table.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rail services Southeastern has cancelled in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010. [30736]
Mrs Villiers: The information requested is given in the following table.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has had recent discussions with Southeastern on ensuring the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of its service. [30742]
Mrs Villiers: Department for Transport officials review Southeastern’s delivery of its services on a four-weekly
20 Dec 2010 : Column 1000W
basis. This includes its train performance and the financial delivery. The effectiveness of the operator’s delivery is also tested on an annual basis through the business planning requirements of its franchise agreement.
Separately, as this House is aware, Sir Roy McNulty has published his interim report into the Value for Money of the railway, available at:
which identifies potential savings of up to £1 billion a year in the running of Britain’s railways. The Government will be taking forward these savings with train operators and Network Rail, to ensure a more efficient and effective railway.
London and South Eastern Railways: Tickets
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what mechanisms are in place to ensure that Southeastern carries out efficient ticketing enforcement on its rail services; and if he will make a statement. [30734]
Mrs Villiers: All franchise agreements entered into since 2004 require train operators to implement a structured revenue protection strategy.
Southeastern’s revenue protection strategy includes a penalty fares scheme, approved by the Department for Transport. Under the scheme, a passenger who cannot show a valid ticket for their journey, where ticket facilities were available at their starting station, may be liable to a penalty fare of £20 or twice the single fare.
Revenue protection officers operate on the Southeastern network to combat instances of ticketless travel and, where appropriate, to issue penalty fares. The Southeastern network is also served by teams of rail enforcement officers, who are authorised collectors of penalty fares under the penalty fares scheme.
© Parliamentary material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO
on behalf of Parliament. Licence No: P2011000006
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