ROSCo twilight? Government unveils proposals for fewer trains to be leased
The plans, announced at the Labour Party conference in Manchester, could involve the state owning new trains directly rather than leasing them from private sector finance houses. The Government has calculated that more than 2.5 billion pounds has been paid in dividends by the ROSCos over the past ten years, and the companies have sometimes been accused of charging excessive amounts for older rolling stock, the capital cost of which would have been largely written off.
TfL takes first step towards ending outsourcingTransport for London has taken the first step towards ending outsourcing, a practice which is vigorously opposed by the unions on the grounds that the employees of third party companies can have less favourable conditions. TfL has confirmed that a comprehensive 12-month pilot to examine how cleaning services at bus and Underground stations can be carried out by in-house staff is beginning today.
Avanti West Coast renationalisation date revealedAvanti West Coast is to be renationalised on 7 March 2027. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to confirm this at the Labour Party Conference. The contract for AWC was the last of the old franchises to be awarded, to FirstGroup and Trenitalia, and started in December 2019. It was replaced by two short contracts as a result of the Covid pandemic coupled with performance problems at Avanti, and a formal National Rail Contract did not follow until October 2023.
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