Case study
West Midlands Franchise Bid
Abellio Group for Department for Transport
Project Overview
The West Midlands Franchise operates semi-express and express passenger services between London and the Midlands on the West Coast Main Line, along with regional services serving the West Midlands region. It also operates the Abbey Line and Marston Vale Line in the Home Counties, and the Cross-City Line in Birmingham.
Approach:
Worked as part of the Abellio Rolling Stock workstream, complemented by JR East partners, to produce the Rolling Stock Delivery Plan, which represented 25% of the overall bid score.
Undertook extensive research and analysis to understand passenger crowding and performance issues in the current franchise, to feed into initiative development.
Proposed rolling stock initiatives included:
Undertook extensive research and analysis to understand passenger crowding and performance issues in the current franchise, to feed into initiative development.
Proposed rolling stock initiatives included:
The introduction of new train fleets on the Cross-City Line and West Coast Main Line to increase capacity and performance
Refurbishment of existing fleets to address severe overcrowding and performance issues, while improving train presentation scores
Enhancements to depots and other franchise facilities
Improved maintenance and cleaning strategies
Organisation design and refinement
Introduction of innovative technologies and alternative traction types
Results
The tender was submitted on time in November 2016. Abellio was awarded the contract in August 2017.