Rail Franchise & The Metro
The Economy,
Infrastructure and Skills Committee will undertake an inquiry into the
Welsh Government’s plans for the next Wales and Borders Rail Franchise and the
next stage in development of the South Wales Metro.
Summary
The
inquiry will build on the work undertaken by the Enterprise and Business
Committee on the future of the Wales and Borders Franchise. The Welsh Government aims to award an
integrated contact for both the next rail franchise and South Wales Metro
infrastructure delivery in 2017.
Background
At present the majority of rail services in
Wales are provided under the Wales and Border Rail Franchise, operated by
Arriva Trains Wales with the diesel rolling stock leased from two rolling stock
companies (Angel Trains and Porterbrook).
The current contract was awarded in 2003 and will end in 2018. At present Arriva Trains Wales receives a
subsidy from the Welsh Government of between £150m and £180m a year.
In November 2014 the UK and Welsh
Governments reached agreement on devolution of executive powers to procure the
next Wales and Borders Rail Franchise which is due to start in October
2018. The devolution of executive powers
means that the Welsh Government will have powers to procure the franchise
within a statutory framework set by Westminster.
While the Metro for South Wales will be
part of the bid, the company's proposals will also be scrutinised in terms of
how they will affect all geographical locations. The Welsh Government has set out its
ambitions for the Metro but it will be up to the bidders to propose how it will
operate, as well as drawing up plans to build a new rail or tram system.
Since it will be the Welsh Government,
rather than our Committee or the National Assembly for Wales, which actually
takes the decision on priorities for the next rail franchise and Metro and
awards the contracts, you may also wish to tell the Government what you
think. The Welsh Government will soon be
consulting on its plans and you will find further information, including how to
respond to that consultation, once it has been published on the Welsh Government’s
website.
Survey
If you're a rail user we'd like to hear
your views. We will use your contributions as we take evidence and make
recommendations to feed into the Welsh Government's negotiations. We want to
ensure that the new contract for rail services in Wales takes the needs of
passengers into account, and that the contract provides value for money for
passengers and the taxpayer. The survey can be found here:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/rail-metro
Video
Committee Chair, Russell George AM provides
some background information on the Committee's inquiry into the Rail Franchise
and the Metro. https://youtu.be/ASjF-KBEt5I
Business type: Committee Inquiry
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: Complete
First published: 27/09/2016
Documents
- Notes of the Stakeholder event, 9 March 2017 PDF 257 KB View as HTML (1) 32 KB
- Committee Report - On the right track? The Rail Franchise and South Wales Metro (PDF 1 MB)
- Ten priorities for the new Wales and Borders Franchise (PDF 1.5MB) PDF 1 MB
- Welsh Government response
Consultations
- Rail Franchise & The Metro (completed)