| Minister clamps down on First Great Western |
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| Written by Adrie van der Luijt | |
| Tuesday, 26 February 2008 | |
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The Transport Secretary, Ruth Kelly, has announced measures to address unacceptably high levels of train cancellations on the First Great Western franchise.
First Great Western, which runs trains between London and the South West and Wales, is being issued with a Remedial Plan Notice for exceeding the threshold on cancellations in the second half of last year. The Remedial Plan sets out a plan for reducing cancellations. This includes milestones which the Department for Transport will monitor and review. It also outlines additional rolling stock and employment of more drivers, guards and technicians to secure a more reliable service and drastically reduce the number of cancellations. Breach Notice The Transport Secretary said that the company is also being issued with a Breach Notice for misreporting its cancellations. This stipulates the steps First Great Western, owned by FirstGroup Plc and dubbed ‘Worst Great Western’ by its passengers, must take to rectify the problem. In addition a £29m package of passenger benefits, fully funded by First Great Western, has been agreed. This will address areas of passenger concern and tackle the high level of train cancellations. These include passenger compensation, fare offers and additional trains, but no concrete measures to address actual cancellations. Between January 2008 and January 2009 First Great Western will double its compensation rates under the passenger charter. This will benefit any passengers who suffer disruption as well as season ticket holders who renew their tickets. These are the customers who have been most affected by the unacceptable performance. Increase in compensation rates Regular passengers have grown used to trains being announced as being on time, then five to ten minutes late before being cancelled althogether - with reasons given ranging from cows on the line to crew members failing to turn up because their taxi had taken a wrong turn. From January 2009 to January 2010 there will be a fifty per cent increase in compensation rates. An additional 500,000 of the cheapest off-peak tickets will be made available for a selection of First Great Western's most popular destinations. Fares offers will commence from 1 April of this year until 31 March 2009. None of this is any consolation, however, to passengers who travel regularly on First Great Western trains during peak times, but for whom season tickets are not an option. From summer 2008 until summer 2011 every through train on the Cardiff-Portsmouth route will have an additional carriage to provide extra capacity. This will increase trains from two carriages to three, an aggregate increase of 40 per cent capacity. This will mitigate the crowding on one of First Great Western's most popular routes, which runs through Bristol. Refurbishment of commuter trains New and additional high quality information equipment will be installed at more stations. This will include additional modern monitors. This will finish by end of December 2010. First Great Western will refurbish Thames Valley commuter trains earlier than contracted and will spend double the previously agreed amount. Refurbishment of Thames Valley commuter trains will commence this year and will be completed by 2011. Refurbishment will include the modernisation of carriage interiors to a far higher standard than originally planned. Lines to benefit will include London to Reading, Oxford, Newbury and Reading to Gatwick. Failure to deliver these new commitments would be a default of the franchise agreement which could lead to the Government terminating First Great Western's franchise. Real difference Ruth Kelly said that the performance of First Great Western had fallen persistently short of customers' expectations and had been unacceptable to both passengers and Government. "The £29m package of benefits agreed with First Great Western will make a real difference to passengers. It includes over 500,000 cheaper tickets on the busiest routes, extra carriages between Cardiff and Portsmouth and vastly increases investment in the refurbishment of Thames Valley commuter trains,” she added. The Transport Secretary said that the measures would lead to a reduction in train cancellations and would also provide a substantial package of benefits to First Great Western's customers. It is difficult to see, however, how the measures - more cheap tickets, nicer trains, better systems to announce delays and cancellations - would have any impact on actual cancellations. Passengers will be left wondering how Kelly’s announcement amounts to anything more than a £29m plaster on a festering wound. MPs have called for FirstGroup to be stripped of its franchise altogether. One of First Great Western’s executives admitted this week that the group had underestimated the challenge when it won the franchise in 2005. Related articles
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