Latest rail franchise to hit the buffers at least arrived at the destination via an unconventional route
The conventional way for a company to get stripped of a rail franchise is to over-bid massively and inflict such misery on the shareholders that it is cheaper to forfeit the supporting bond and force the government’s hand. Alternatively, making life hell for the passengers very occasionally gets noticed by the Department for Transport (DfT).
Go-Ahead has therefore produced a rarity. Its 65%-owned Southeastern operation, where customer satisfaction metrics have been better than most, has been nationalised because of “a significant breach of the good faith obligation within the franchise agreement”, specifically the under-declaration of a sum of “over £25m”.
