Passengers' Panel

I think that South West Trains has done a pretty good job recently and deserves a new franchise, and I’m not alone in this. Before all of you at the Panel groan and consign my letter to the waste-paper basket as just a note from another sycophant, let me hasten to add that there are a number of my fellow passengers who would not agree, which is exactly why I am writing. What can the ordinary passenger do to make his or her views heard by whoever awards the new franchises?

Thank you for your compliment. Stagecoach Group runs the South West Trains franchise. We’ll be bidding for the franchise again and we’re advising passengers who wish to add their comments for or against our bid to wait for the announcement of the Invitation to Tender, expected to be in spring 2006. Once this has been made, you would need to obtain a copy of the Stakeholder Consultation document, available from the Department for Transport (DfT), which has now taken on the Strategic Rail Authority’s responsibilities for the franchise consultation process. You would then be able to express your comments in writing to the nominated contact at the DfT and the Bid Director or equivalent at each of the bidding companies. In the past, interested parties have lobbied their MPs and local authorities on issues they believe are important to a new franchise, but we would recommend using the prescribed consultation process first.

Rufus Boyd, Stagecoach Bid Team