The Department for Transport has awarded contracts to two private sector consortia, to supply, finance and maintain new trains for the Intercity Express and Thameslink programmes. The Intercity Express Programme trains will replace ageing high-speed trains on the Great Western Main Line and East Coast Main Line, while the Thameslink trains are part of a wider programme to improve the cross-London Thameslink service. Train operators will pay the consortia to use the trains; the Department estimates that future payments will be around £7.65 billion for Intercity Express and £2.8 billion for Thameslink (present value, in 2014 prices), over 27.5 and 20 years respectively.
This inquiry will examine whether the Department for Transport is well placed to achieve value for money from these deals, considering whether the Department and train operators will manage the contracts and the wider programmes effectively, and how well the Department maintained competition throughout the procurements.
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