That Eurostar 'private sector' bid for ICEC in full

Of mere passing interest, no doubt. 

A quick glance at wikipedia, here and here, reveals the following...  

Eurostar International Limited (EIL) is the parent company of the Eurostar service operating between London, Paris and Brussels. Eurostar was previously operated by three separate companies in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, but this structure was replaced by EIL as a new single management company on 1 September 2010. EIL is owned by London and Continental Railways (40%), SNCB (5%) and SNCF (55%).#

London and Continental Railways (LCR) is a company that was involved in the construction of High Speed 1 (HS1) in the United Kingdom. Originally established in 1994 as a private consortium to build HS1 under a contract agreed with the UK Government, it subsequently ran into financial difficulties and has been owned by the Department for Transport since 2009 

So Eurostar, 40% owned by HMG is allowed to bid for franchises, but DOR (100% owned by HMG) isn’t.

Of course DfT is perfectly happy for overseas state owned railways to run as many of Britain's trains as they want, whether passenger or freight.

Eurostar's ICEC bid partner, Keolis, is 56.7% owned by French railway SNCF.

None the less, Eye wonders at what percentage point does UK state involvement in running a competitively tendered franchise suddenly become unpalatable? 

Answer from the Treasury and DfT came there none...

UPDATE: Eye issues unreserved apology to Keolis!

According to a press release on the Keolis website from April 2012...

"SNCF increases its shareholding in Keolis to accelerate the next phase of the company’s development
 
"At the closing of this transaction, SNCF will hold a 70% stake of Keolis alongside a long term investment partner."

Eye wishes to apologise for misleading readers into thinking that the Keolis/Eurostar bid for ICEC might, in anyway, have been considered to be 'private sector'.
 

Great Western franchise - DOR activated

This from The Brothers...

RAIL UNION RMT revealed today that it has been officially notified of a rescue plan to bring in the publicly owned Directly Operated Railways to run the major Great Western franchise between London, Wales and the South West, fuelling speculation that talks on a contract extension with First Group, due to be announced in the next few weeks, are in trouble.

RMT has received the following notification from DOR:

“GW Railway Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Directly Operated Railways, has today submitted applications to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) for a Safety Certificate (Part A and Part B) and Safety Authorisation in respect of undertaking train and station operations on the Great Western Franchise (i.e. the line of route currently operated by First Greater Western), should current negotiations between the Department for Transport and First Group, on a short term extension to the franchise commencing in October 2013, fail to reach a satisfactory conclusion.“

Interesting... 

UPDATE: This from First Group...

Our negotiations with the DfT in respect of an extension to the First Great Western franchise are, contrary to claims by the RMT, progressing well.  Our proposal is not due to be submitted to the DfT until next month.

The step taken by DOR to register a safety certificate is usual practice and reflects the fact that the process to achieve a safety certificate takes sixteen weeks.  This process is expected to take place in respect of all potential single tender agreement awards for franchises.

First Great Western has also registered for a safety certificate in respect of an extension to the franchise.

UPDATE: This delightful non-sequitur from Maria the Eagle..

David Cameron and his Ministers must come clean if they are preparing to take over Great Western rail services. Passengers deserve to know the truth about the future of the rail services on which they depend.
 
The plan to extend existing franchises is collapsing into chaos. This is a direct consequence of the misguided decision by Ministers to prioritise a costly and unnecessary privatisation of rail services on the East Coast ahead of getting the rest of the rail network back on track. 

The Government should accept it has got this wrong and allow East Coast services to continue to be run on a not for private profit basis. It will be a scandal if even more taxpayers’ money is wasted, adding to the £55 million that has already gone down the drain thanks to the franchising fiasco for which David Cameron and his Ministers were responsible.

UPDATE: This from a source close to DOR...

You know of course that DOR went through exactly the same process during the negotiations to extend both the West Coast and Essex Thameside (C2C) franchise?

Still, not like the RMT to let the facts get in the way of a good story...

New Franchising Policy - Advisory Panel

This from Claude Bottom... 

Is the Fact Compiler losing his touch?

Amongst yesterday's flurry of observations about the New Franchising Policy, not a word on the Rail Franchise Advisory Panel chaired by no less a figure than Richard Brown.

The same Richard Brown who is also chairman of Eurostar, which by happy coincidence is 60% state owned!

Good to see that the new Advisory Panel can offer first hand experience of integrated and nationalised railways, even if they are those of France and Belgium.

Georgian Railways show the way forward?

This from Mrs AP Tis...

I don't know if you've seen the FT today (of course, Ed) but Eye favourite Robert Wright has a piece on Georgian Railways' plans to be the first state controlled railway monopoly to list on the London Stock Exchange.

The last two lines of Mr Wright's piece in the Pink 'Un are most interesting:

Mr Ezugbaia said the company was listing itself as an undivided, integrated organisation to mimic the structure of large, North American railroads, such as Union Pacific and CSX. Those companies own their own track, locomotives and wagons, instead of dividing the infrastructure and operations as normally happens in the European Union.

“We found that this exact strategy is the way to be oriented to successful growth for the railway operations,” Mr Ezugbaia said.

Says it all really.

Light the beacons!

This from M'Lord Howard of Effingham...

II'faith, information hath been received that the heir to the Duke of Medina Sidona and his hidalgos are plotting a new Enterprise of England, planning to subjugate Devon men to the Inquisition and the auto da fe by means of our railways .

I have already ordered that Sir Francis Drake's drum be readied as this hour of peril looms.

Men of Devon, do you wish to see trains liveried in the red and gold of our historic enemy in your shire?

Let our battle cry be "Remember 1588!"

Meanwhile, I have summoned Sir Brian Souter and will order him to Spain with all haste with a Commission to bid for public transport contracts that will verily singe the President of Renfe's beard!

Rail privatisation has failed - Official (again)

Oh how we laughed!

The last time the current lot were in power we were assured that Nationalised industries were woefully inefficient at running railways and that what was required was the sharp suits and shouty braces of the private sector.

And lo, so it came to pass, the railways were flogged off and costs trebled (shurely the tax payer achieved better value for money? Ed)

So what are we to make of this information briefed to most of the Sunday papers?

Deutsche Bahn, Renfe, Albellio and Trenitalia are interested in bidding for the InterCity West Coast franchise.

DafT - have you no shame?

Perhaps Cameron, Petrol-head or Cruella might care to apologise, on behalf of the "back to basics" adulterer Major, for having got it so terribly, terribly wrong?