THE CASE FOR A PAUSE
Railtalk
Compare and contrast, if you will, the respective fortunes of two of Britain’s leading transport groups. On the one hand, National Express, and on the other, Go-Ahead.
Both came into being as management buyouts from the National Bus Company at the end of the 1980s. Ten years later, both were successful in the first round of rail franchising, with Go-Ahead spreading the risk through a 65% share in a management buy-out.
And while National Express continued as an independent, Go-Ahead formed a joint venture with VIA-GTI of France to create today’s Govia.
During their two decades of ownership, rail franchising has delivered both profit and pain to both operators. National Express became a hate figure for the left when it ‘handed in the keys’ to the Inter-city East Coast franchise. That reneging on a franchise came with a substantial financial penalty did not assuage the wrath of the back-to-British Rail brigade.
For its part, Go-Ahead has become embroiled in the Department for Transport’s attempt to crush the rail unions. The industrial trench warfare at Southern has piled Pelion on the Ossa of the Thameslink programme at London Bridge. This, too, has incurred a considerable cost.
NATEX NERVOUS
