DfT issues ITTs for LTS and Thameslink 3000

This from the DfT... 

The first invitation to tenders have been published by DfT since launch of a new rail franchising schedule.

The government has today (26 September 2013) published 2 invitations to tender (ITT) for the Essex Thameside and Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise competitions. 

These are the first to be issued to bidders since the Department for Transport launched its new rail franchising schedule in March.

They have been shaped by the recommendations made by the independent Brown review into rail franchising. 

ITTs ask bidders to set out detailed proposals of what they will deliver should they win the franchise competition.

Rail Minister Simon Burns said:

"Rail franchising has been a force for good on our railways and the department has been working hard to roll out its new franchising schedule. 

"These are the first invitations to tender to be issued since the independent Brown review into rail franchising, which endorsed the government’s approach to the railways.

"We are now looking for innovative bids that provide value for money for taxpayers and put passengers right back at the heart of our railways." 

It is anticipated the successful bids will be announced in May next year. The Essex Thameside contract will begin in September 2014 and run for 15 years.

The Thameslink and Great Northern elements of the TSGN franchise will start in September 2014 with the Southern element being phased in by July 2015. The franchise will run for 7 years. 

ENDS

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A word on matrix management

As a service to the industry Eye thought it timely to revisit the Laidlaw Inquiry findings into the ICWC debacle:

Deficiencies in organisational structure and resourcing

7.15 The Inquiry team has considered the organisational changes at the DfT in early 2011 and the impact of multiple changes in leadership and the significant reduction in resources at the DfT over the relevant period. I consider that these organisational changes and resourcing constraints contributed to the flaws in the ICWC franchise process and adversely impacted the DfT’s effectiveness in identifying and/or resolving those flaws. Specifically, I would draw out the following material points in this regard:

7.15.1 until late 2010 the DfT’s activities in relation to refranchising were organised under a single Director-General (“DG”) (refer to Appendix G for details). From late 2010, a client provider relationship, effectively a partial matrix structure, was put in place, with full implementation of the organisational redesign completed in May 2011. This resulted in rail franchising responsibilities within the DfT being split across three DGs (as illustrated in Appendix G). As a result, there was no single accountable lead within the DfT for rail refranchising as a whole; 

Matrix management structures? Treat with caution!