Connex loses rail franchise
Train operator Connex has been stripped of its remaining rail franchise because of poor service performance.
The troubled company, which has been heavily dependent on subsidies, is the first operator to lose its multi-billion pound franchise, according to the Strategic Rail Authority.
SRA chairman Richard Bowker stressed that passengers would not be affected by the decision.
“It is business as usual for all passengers and the vast majority of Connex staff,” he explained.
“We have taken this decision to protect taxpayers’ money and passenger delivery.”
Connex chief executive Olivier Brousse said the decision had been “unexpected”, adding: “Whilst we acknowledge the SRA’s decision, we strongly disagree with the reasons behind it. We are considering all our options.”
Thousands of leaflets explaining the move will be issued to passengers and here will now be a “managed exit” period of around six months, while Connex hands over to a temporary shadow company, run by two SRA directors and representatives from other operators.
Connex runs around 1,800 trains a day in the UK. The franchise had been due to run until 2006.
The company lost its South Central franchise in a bidding war two years ago. It now loses its franchise to run services in Kent and Sussex.
Connex was fined for poor service in January 2002. The company has been funded to the tune of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. The most recent punctuality figures showed that one in five Connex South Eastern trains run late.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the biggest rail union, the RMT, called on the SRA to “bring train operations back into the public sector where they belong.”
