According to the DfT...
The Department has today begun consulting Chiltern Railway Company Limited, and relevant rail industry bodies, on a proposal to impose a Penalty of £500,000 on the company for a series of contraventions of the terms of their franchise agreement.
Chiltern accept that they have breached the terms of their franchise in relation to the late delivery of two station improvement schemes, and to two breaches of requirements in relation to timetable changes. These specific breaches have since been remedied.
A copy of the Department’s letter to Chiltern advising them of the Penalty and setting out the details of their contraventions has been published today on the Department’s website.
Villiers' franchise reform proposals, based on the 'success' of the Chiltern model, keep getting more and more credible.
UPDATE: This from Chiltern...
In reaction to the DfT’s intention to impose a penalty notice on Chiltern Railways.
We accept that, in 2009, there were four technical breaches of the franchise agreement; none of which had significant consequence for our passengers or incurred cost to the taxpayer. The most serious breaches were a 16-week delay in commissioning new lifts at a single station, and a four-week delay in installing a new shelter on a platform that already had one.
Since that time, we have successfully delivered £7.25m of investment in station improvements and car park expansions, started work on the largest privately funded passenger infrastructure project since before world war two and continued to meet all the requirements of our franchise on punctuality and service quality. Next month, we will be introducing brand new commuter trains at a cost of £1.2m per carriage.
The Chiltern Railways franchise has always been focused on delivering what our passengers tell us they want. It would be a cause for enormous regret if £0.5m were diverted from investment in improvement for passengers as a result of low impact franchise breaches.
UPDATE: This from Steve Strong...
Strange.
DfT have been spurned into action over a 16 week delay in commissioning lifts at a single station but remain silent about a 16 month absence of WiFi from the entire Arriva Cross Country network.
I suppose this is a start.
Perchance DfT is not dead but sleepeth?
UPDATE: This from Jumbo...
WSMR appears to be a gift that just keeps on giving to Chiltern's German owners.
Judging by the DfT snotogram WSMR is at the heart of this fine.
Hilariously, it would appear that the DfT only found out about Chiltern's sharp timetabling practice from a WSMR press release!
Let's just add that to WSMR's tab shall we - a cool £14m and counting!
UPDATE: This from 31154...
I notice there is a "Wifi on Trains Conference" in London on 8-9 June,
According to the blurb:
"Among the companies presenting at Train Communications Systems 2011 will be...
- Russian Railways
- Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (Italian high-speed train operator)
- WestBahn (Austrian Train Company)
- Amtrak
- Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya
- BWCS
- Department for Transport, UK
- National Express
- China Railways
- Bay Area Rapid Transit
- SJ Trains
- VR Trains
- NS Trains
- Thalys International
- Globalfone (USA)
- Icomera
- 21Net
- Nomad
- GBS (USA)
No doubt the DafT presentation will reveal how successfully they've enforced their franchise commitments though?