![GTR Class 700 EMUs Nos 700027 and 700134 await departure from Bedford on 17 May 2020 GTR Class 700 EMUs Nos 700027 and 700134 await departure from Bedford on 17 May 2020](https://fft-keymodernrailways.b-cdn.net/sites/modernrailways/files/styles/media_image_mobile/public/2021-06/thameslink_700027_700134_bedford1705201801.jpg?h=790be497&itok=f1ZegN8r)
The Department for Transport has extended Govia Thameslink Railway’s Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement from 20 September 2021 to 31 March 2022.
The contract generates a margin of up to 1.5% and is a management contract with no financial exposure to passenger volumes, which have fallen significantly during the Covid pandemic.
The government has also issued a Prior Information Notice for operation of services currently run by GTR starting on 1 April 2022 and running for up to six years with a core period of at least two years. It will take the form of a direct award contract. It follows a previous PIN which envisaged the ERMA being replaced by a direct award on 19 September.