The UK Government is rethinking how they grant franchises to the various Train Operating Companies (TOCSs). It doesn’t appear the changes, if any, would be implemented soon.
https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/passenger-rail-services-competition-policy-project
This is an interesting and valuable thing to bring up now, since they’re soliciting comments until October on the four options they’ve identified.
TL:DR – recoomendations are in the “summary” document’s “Options for Reform”. pp. 22ff:
Option 1 – ‘permitting a significantly increased role for OAOs [open access operations], alongside [present] franchises’ (p.23);
Option 2 – two franchisees in competition for each franchise (p.24);
Option 3 – ‘redesigning the franchise map’ so franchises overlap in some areas to create competition (p.25);
Option 4 – multiple licensed operators, ‘system of formal franchises … replaced with a system closer to that of competition between OAOs…’
It does not appear that an “Option 0,” maintaining things as they are, is considered a possibility.
Here’s an interesting opportunity for the Forum to discuss these options and perhaps better ways to implement them, and then provide more informed comments to the ‘powers that be’ before the Octover deadline.
Interesting to discuss these options for the UK, but isn’t their model somewhat moot for the US, inasmuch as it depends on some form of open access to the infrastructure, which the US railroads have vehemently opposed?
I wasn’t thinking of any immediate application to the United States. This would principally concern the status (perhaps somewhat troubled at present) of the operations authority for preserved equipment and excursions, both steam and diesel, over British trackage.