Posted 5th June 2013 | 8 Comments
Thameslink 'at risk' through rolling stock delays
The existing Thameslink fleet consists mostly of 25-year old Class 319 units
THE Thameslink Programme may be at risk because the procurement process for new trains remains stalled, even though the Department for Transport named Siemens as preferred bidder for the £1.4 billion contract two years ago this month.
The warning has come in a new report from the National Audit Office, which says there are also implications for the wider network.
The contract to procure some 1,100 new vehicles for the enlarged Thameslink network from 2018 was controversially awarded in principle to German train-builder Siemens in June 2011, leaving Derby-based Bombardier as the runner up.
Although the DfT said the Siemens bid offered better value for money, the decision has been widely criticised ever since. Bombardier has remained in business in Derby until now with the help of London Underground contracts and a more recent order to build more Electrostars for Southern.
The arrival of new Thameslink trains will allow its existing fleet, which consists mostly of 25-year old Class 319 units, to be cascaded to newly-electrified lines elsewhere in the country.
The late arrival of the new trains is likely to affect these cascades, raising the possibility that some of the newly-electrified routes will have to be operated with diesels for the time being.
The delay is widely believed to be caused by the funding element of the Siemens deal, which is thought to have been affected by the wider economic crisis in the Eurozone. The Government has abandoned its original plans for a similar 'fund-design-build-maintain' contract for Crossrail trains, which are now be entirely publicly funded.
NAO head Amyas Morse said: "It’s too early in the Thameslink programme to conclude on whether or not it will achieve value for money. That will have to wait until the new service is running. However, there has been good progress in delivering the first stage of the infrastructure part of the programme on time and under budget, which the Department now needs to build on. Our principal concern is around the delay in agreeing the contract to build new trains which raises questions about the feasibility of delivering the whole Programme by 2018.”
The Department for Transport said the procurement was complex, and that it was 'important that we get it absolutely right'.
A spokesman added that that the deal was in its final stages, and that it was expected to be concluded 'shortly'.
However, previous deadlines have been repeatedly broken. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said the problems had been caused by "scandalous political incompetence", with "chaotic mismanagement of the Thameslink upgrade right up to cabinet level". He warned that "train building in the nation that gave the railways to the world is on a knife-edge".
Reader Comments:
Views expressed in submitted comments are that of the author, and not necessarily shared by Railnews.
Steve, Nottingham
David Callam, Greater London
"There was a tendering process that Siemens won. "
Yes that's right. However, after two years they have not been able to deliver. So perhaps the people who award the contract (in this case the DfT) should look again? Perhaps the company who came second should be considered?
Lutz, London
Public sector problems again; 'get it absolutely right' means delivering the product on schedule. Unfortunately, this is not something public sector workers see as being critical to a project.
@Lee, Manchester
I agree; if the preferred bider cannot meet the objectives, pen-pushers need to move on.
Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
This situation re trains for Thameslink demonstrates there needs to be a time limit on preferred bidders coming up with the goods !
By now Siemens could have been disqualified and the order transferred to Bombardier who would also have a time limit.
Oh and if Bombardier also fail to deliver they would both be disqualified from another try if the tender is re-issued !
Tim, Devon
It would be nice if the government could retender the contract to preference dmoestic train builders. If the French and Germans are going to break the rules on a free market, we might as well too.
However it does seem that the problem is finding someone who has a few billion pounds they want to spend on trains. Changing the physical manufacturer of the trains probably wouldn't help this.
The only options are to sweeten the deal so that someone does want to get involved or the government can just borrow money and buy the trains themselves. Of course the chancellor wouldn't be too happy about that. Eventually you could create a new ROSCO for Thameslink and Crossrail rolling stock and privatise it to repay the governments debt. Once the trains are actually built and in service a lot of the risk is removed so investors would be easier to find.
David Callam, Greater London
I'm just a poor passenger on this overcrowded, severely delayed line which seems to have become the plaything of politicians and civil servants.
Forgive my being naïve, but I don't understand why government should decide who builds the trains.
There was a tendering process that Siemens won. It is no business of the railway companies or the leasing companies what happens to worry jobs at Bombardier. That's the responsibility of the company, surely.
Given the amount of interference from government over botched franchise bidding and failure to buy the necessary rolling stock, we might as well return to the bad old days of a publicly owned railway - and jobs for life once more for Bob Crow's boys.
Mervyn, Nottingham
Surely, it should be the ROSCO's that should buy them! The TOC's are not interested. Some of them give up the franchise when the premium is due!
(In this case, Siemens is also intended to effectively play the part of a ROSCo, by providing the capital investment needed.--Editor.)
Lee, Manchester
If there are now doubts as to whether the preferred bidder in principle can deliver the Thameslink stock with the proposed cost benefits, surely the DfT should be looking at the runners up to see if they are now preferred tenderers? I acknowledge there are probably contract and procurement issues that haven't been reported but why has this situation taking 2+ years to resolve? What is going on at the DfT?
jak jaye, birmingham
Here's an idea instead of the poor taxpayer coughing up the money for the
dodgy deal,make those railway cowboys FirstGroup pay,and on top of that make ALL TOCs maintain the track and signals maybe we get fewer delays(some hope) check out the current farce on the Cathcart Circle Line in Glasgow,isnt going to happen of course firms like FirstGroup run trains to make money,not to provide a service to their customers