West Coast Partnership

The West Coast Partnership (WCP) is a railway franchise in the United Kingdom for passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line (WCML)(and branches thereof), between London Euston, the West Midlands, Shropshire, North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester, Carlisle, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Founded in December 2019, it is currently operated by First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Limited, comprising two distinct parts, Avanti West Coast which runs the current services on the WCML, and West Coast Partnership Development, which is the 'shadow operator' for future high-speed services.

West Coast Partnership
Overview
LocaleWest Coast Main Line
High Speed 2 (from 2029)
Dates of operation2019–2032
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Other
Websitehttps://www.westcoastpartnership.co.uk

History

In November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced that the InterCity West Coast franchise would be replaced by the West Coast Partnership, which will operate express services on both the West Coast Main Line (WCML) and on High Speed 2 (HS2).

At that time, very high speed services were planned to begin on the first phase of HS2 in 2026. The new franchise was originally to start in September 2019, and to operate an initial seven years of WCML services to 2026, followed by five years as the integrated operator for WCML and HS2 (to 2031) – with an option for the Secretary of State to extend the term by up to three years (to 2034).[1][2]

The DfT specified that the new operator must have experience in high-speed trains and infrastructure, hence each bidder partnered with an Asian or European high-speed operator.[3][4] In June 2017, the DfT announced three consortiums had been shortlisted to bid for the franchise:[5][6]

In December 2018, MTR announced that Spain's main rail operator Renfe Operadora had joined its joint bid as a key subcontractor.[7] In April 2019, Stagecoach Group was disqualified for submitting a non-compliant bid.[8]

In August 2019, the DfT announced the FirstGroup / Trenitalia consortium as the successful bidder.[9] Trading as Avanti West Coast and West Coast Partnership Development,[10] it commenced operating the franchise on 8 December 2019.[11]

As a result of the COVID pandemic, the franchising system in Great Britain was abolished in the autumn of 2020.[12] The Franchise Agreement was initially replaced by an Emergency Measures Agreement (EMA) between 1 March 2020 and 20 September 2020, and subsequently by an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement (ERMA), in effect until the end of March 2022 with an optional extension until October 2022.[13]

Following the ERMA, a directly-awarded National Rail Contract (NRC) will see First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Limited continuing to operate the franchise for 10 years until October 2032.[14]

References
  1. "The West Coast Partnership Stakeholder Briefing Document" (PDF). Department for Transport. March 2020. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2019.
  2. "New partnership to run West Coast and HS2 services". Rail (814): 14. 23 November 2016.
  3. "Wanted: Superfast mover to partner Virgin and Stagecoach for HS2". The Times. 4 March 2017.
  4. "RENFE poised to join Virgin's HS2 franchise bid". Railway Gazette International. 12 March 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017.
  5. "West Coast Partnership and South Eastern rail franchise bidders". Department for Transport. 22 June 2017. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019.
  6. "Three shortlisted for West Coast Partnership franchise". Railway Gazette International. 22 June 2017. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017.
  7. "MTR teams up with operator of Europe's largest high speed rail network for West Coast Partnership bid" (Press release). MTR Corporation. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020.
  8. "Stagecoach takes legal action over West Coast franchise". BBC News. 24 May 2019.
  9. FirstGroup replaces Virgin to run West Coast route BBC News 14 August 2019
  10. "Companies House data". Gov.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  11. "Avanti West Coast launches". Railways Illustrated: 6. February 2020.
  12. "Rail franchises axed as help for train firms extended". BBC News. 21 September 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  13. "First Group agrees termination fees for SWR and Avanti franchises". International Railway Journal. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  14. "West Coast Partnership: prior information notice". Gov.uk. DfT. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
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