BRITAIN’s Department for Transport (DfT) announced on November 29 that it will exercise an option to extend FirstGroup’s current Great Western Railway (GWR) franchise by one year, to April 1 2020, and negotiate a direct award for the GWR franchise for two years to April 2022, with an option for a two-year extension. The DfT also launched a public consultation on the future of the GWR franchise, including proposals to split it into two separate units.

BRITAIN’s National Audit Office says that the £7bn Thameslink project to upgrade routes through London has a realistic prospect of delivering value for money, but the Department for Transport (DfT) and Network Rail (NR) now face a challenge to introduce the new expanded services, as they failed to start preparation early enough.

THE British government introduced legislation into parliament on November 16 to turn Transport for the North (TfN) into a what it describes as “the first ever statutory sub-national transport body, with legal powers and duties” by April 2018.

BRITAIN’s secretary of state for transport Mr Chris Grayling announced on October 12 that the government has allocated infrastructure manager Network Rail (NR) a budget of £47.9bn for operation, maintenance and renewals in Control Period 6 (CP6), which runs from April 2019 to March 2024.

BRITAIN’s Department for Transport (DfT) announced on August 10 that it has awarded a contract to operate the West Midlands franchise to West Midlands Trains, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abellio Transport Group with East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Mitsui as minority partners.

BRITAIN’s Department for Transport (DfT) has deposited a hybrid Bill in Parliament seeking powers to build Phase 2a of HS2 from Lichfield to Crewe, which is expected to open 2027, and has confirmed the alignment for Phase 2b from Crewe to Manchester and from Birmingham to Leeds.

BRITAIN’s National Audit Office (NAO) has published findings of an investigation into the Sheffield to Rotherham tram-train scheme, and has discovered Network Rail’s (NR) original cost has quadrupled, the cost:benefit ratio has plummeted and it will take longer to implement.

BRITAIN’s Department for Transport revealed its shortlist of bidders for the South Eastern franchise on June 22.

BRITAIN’s Department for Transport (DfT) has released the shortlist of bidders for the West Coast Partnership (WCP) franchise, which will operate inter-city services on the West Coast Main Line from April 2019 and design and run initial High Speed 2 (HS2) services between London and Birmingham from 2026.

BRITAIN’s Department for Transport (DfT) announced on March 27 that it has selected a 70:30 joint venture of FirstGroup and MTR for a contract to operate the South Western franchise, ousting Stagecoach subsidiary South West Trains, which has operated the franchise since privatisation in 1996.