FirstGroup
will
publish
a
report
today
which
sets
out
its
support
for
open
access
passenger
services,
as
the
fight
to
protect
them
ramps
up.
The
report
and
the
event
in
London
at
which
it
will
be
unveiled
had
been
planned
before
transport
secretary
Heidi
Alexander
published
a
letter
to
the
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
about
open
access
licences
two
weeks
ago.
In
it
she
signalled
the
likelihood
that
open
access
licences
will
be
harder
to
obtain
in
the
future,
saying:
‘I
am
…
aware
of
the
additional
pressures
new
services
can
create
on
already
constrained
network
capacity
and
their
impact
on
the
value
secured
from
public
investment
in
infrastructure.
While
Open
Access
operators
pay
variable
access
charges
to
Network
Rail
to
cover
the
direct
costs
incurred
running
their
trains
on
the
network,
unlike
government
contracted
operators
they
do
not
fully
cover
the
costs
of
fixed
track
access
charges.’
She
also
warned
that
the
formal
guidance
which
the
ORR
is
given
by
the
transport
secretary
could
be
changed.
Open
access
licences
will
be
the
only
way
that
the
private
sector
can
continue
to
run
passenger
trains
when
the
last
of
the
old
franchises
is
renationalised,
probably
in
2027.
The
first
National
Rail
Contract
to
be
terminated
is
set
to
be
South
Western
Railway
in
May,
owned
by
FirstGroup
and
MTR
(which
has
a
minority
stake).
Other
FirstGroup
contracts
for
Great
Western
Railway
and
Avanti
West
Coast
will
follow.
First’s
TransPennine
Express
contract
was
terminated
by
the
previous
government
in
May
2023
because
of
poor
performance,
and
has
been
nationalised
since
then.