The government says its rescue deal is the biggest shake-up of the industry in 25 years
Since privatisation a train operator’s profit or loss, with the state getting a share of the profit or covering some of the loss, broadly depended on how many passengers were carried on the route. Normal franchise agreements were suspended in March, when the government told people not to travel because of coronavirus. Virtually all rail companies would have defaulted or gone bust under existing contracts this year. Those emergency deals expired on Sunday night, and have been succeeded by transitional “recovery” contracts, or Ermas, while the exact shape of the future rail system is thrashed out.
