Railway transport services

Tender description

Contract for provision of long distance rail services on the UK conventional mainline rail system. They serve the key cities of London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow. It is envisaged the services would run between: (a) London Euston to Lichfield Trent Valley, Crewe, Preston and Glasgow Central; (b) Lichfield Trent Valley to Macclesfield and Manchester Piccadilly; (c) Crewe to Wilmslow and Manchester Piccadilly; (d) Crewe to Chester, Wrexham General and Holyhead; (e) Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street; (f) Preston to Blackpool North; (g) Carlisle to Edinburgh; (h) London Euston to Coventry, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury; (i) Wolverhampton to Stafford; and (j) Birmingham New Street to Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe and Glasgow or Edinburgh. There is a mixture of leisure, business and commuter travel. These services would be similar to those currently operated on the West Coast Partnership franchise. In addition the contract may also include provisions to support the planning and preparation of services and works for HS2, for example to minimise disruption to passengers.