New arrangements for rail franchises have been announced today by the Department for Transport as the Emergency Measures Agreements, introduced to allow train services to continue running during the COVID-19 crisis, reached their expiry date. The new Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements will continue to see the revenue risk taken by the DfT, but the management fees will be reduced to a maximum of 1.5% of the cost base of each franchise at pre-pandemic levels.
The DfT has also announced that this new arrangements will be the stepping stone to a new model for rail delivery which will replace the franchise model which has been operating for the last 24 years.