Drop in HS2 complaints

Complaints to HS2 Ltd fell significantly in October-December 2023, according to Independent Complaints Commissioner Sir Mark Worthington, although he said that noise, traffic, lighting, road conditions and site management issues continue to be raised by the public.

Worthington also noted that HS2’s failure to meet reopening dates of the ‘Greatworth T’ road near Banbury had left local communities both frustrated and angry.

In his latest quarterly report, published in early April, he said that reopening dates needed to be realistic.

He added that last autumn’s decision by the Prime Minister to halt work between Old Oak Common and Euston had led to uncertainty that fuelled frustration. He said he hoped the government would “move at speed to tackle the vacuum of information that was created in the autumn”.

The Department for Transport has announced that it is seeking interest from private firms for three of the UK’s passenger operations, suggesting that a wholesale reorganisation of how they are managed is still some way off.

LNER, South Western Railway and Essex Thameside (c2c) have been direct awards since 2021. This system allows the present incumbents to ‘make a reasonable profit’ while ensuring that the taxpayer is being looked after.

No details have been revealed as to how much the new contracts are worth, or how the successful candidates will be interviewed or chosen. But they do not feature any major changes to routes or timetables.

The current LNER contract has been under direct government control (OLR Holdings Limited, DOHL) since the termination of the loss-making Virgin Trains East Coast contract six years ago. It was the government’s stated intention then that any future deal would integrate it with the Great Northern network out of King’s Cross, but this is no longer mentioned.

The present contract is due to run its course on June 22 2025. The new one will run for a minimum of two years, and can be extended to a maximum of five.

There is no change to the specification, which is the core London-Edinburgh corridor with some services extended to Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness, plus Leeds (and Bradford, Skipton and Harrogate), Middlesbrough, Hull and Lincoln.

SWR’s agreement expires on May 25 2025, and again the DfT says it is not looking to change the way it is run.

The vast majority of its mix of commuter and regional services run out of Waterloo to Portsmouth, Southampton and Reading, and extend as far as Bristol, Exeter and Weymouth. It also includes the Isle of Wight‘s Island Line. The contract will run for no less than three years, and a maximum of eight.

The Essex Thameside contract, currently operated by Trenitalia c2c Ltd, is for services out of Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness, Southend via Ockenden, and to Grays. This deal expires on July 20 next year, and the new one is for no less than three years and a maximum of between six and eight.

This story appears in issue 1007 of RAIL. Get your copy delivered to your letterbox or inbox.