An operator of last resort is a business in the United Kingdom that operates a railway franchise, on behalf of the government, when a train operating company is no longer able to do so. Since May 2023, there are six such operators in England, Wales and Scotland.
Under the Railways Act 1993, which privatised passenger operations in the United Kingdom, the government is required to maintain continuity of passenger rail services if a franchise is terminated. In some instances, the government has been able to negotiate for the existing franchisee to continue to operate the franchise on a management contract until it can be relet, as happened when GNER defaulted on the InterCity East Coast franchise in 2007. [1]
Should this not be possible, the Department for Transport (DfT) in England (through DfT OLR Holdings), or the Scottish Government (through Scottish Rail Holdings) for the ScotRail franchise in Scotland, and the Welsh Government for the Wales & Borders franchise in Wales, is required to step in as the operator of last resort.
In July 2009, the DfT established Directly Operated Railways (DOR) as its operator of last resort for England. [2] In November 2015, the DfT wound up DOR and appointed a partnership of Arup Group, Ernst & Young and SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit. [3]
Since privatisation in the mid-1990s there have been nine occasions when an operator of last resort has been appointed.
Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. The company also operates transport services including trains abroad: in the Republic of Ireland, United States, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Germany, Bahrain, and Morocco, and long-distance coach services across Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
First ScotRail was a train operating company in Scotland owned by FirstGroup. It operated the ScotRail franchise between October 2004 and March 2015.
Arriva Trains Northern was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Regional Railways North East franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. Arriva resumed operating Northern train services again on 1 April 2016 under the Northern brand but ceased again on 29 February 2020.
FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen in the north-east of Scotland. The company operates transport services in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
A train operating company (TOC) is the term used on the railway system of Great Britain for a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
The transport system in Scotland is generally well-developed. The Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament has control over most elements of transport policy within Scotland, with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition holding portfolio responsibility within the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland is the Executive Agency responsible for the Scottish transport network.
Caledonian Sleeper is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom, the other being the Night Riviera which runs between London and Penzance.
Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva's train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with the take-over of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn, Arriva UK Trains also took over the running of those formerly overseen by DB Regio UK Limited.
TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, was a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operated the TransPennine Express franchise. It ran regional and inter-city rail services between the major cities and towns of Northern England and Scotland.
Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain is the system of contracting the operation of the passenger services on the railways of Great Britain to private companies, which has been in effect since 1996 and was greatly altered in 2020, with rail franchising being effectively abolished in May 2021.
Serco-Abellio is a joint venture between Serco and Transport UK Group, each owning 50%. The joint venture is the train operating company of the Merseyrail franchise since July 2003 in the Liverpool City Region. It previously operated the Northern Rail franchise in Northern England from December 2004 until March 2016.
The South Eastern franchise, also known as the Integrated Kent franchise, is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services between London and Kent in South East England.
Directly Operated Railways Ltd. (DOR) was a holding company set up by the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom in July 2009 to operate rail franchises should it become necessary to bring them into public ownership. From November 2015, its function was taken over by the Department for Transport, who set up DfT OLR Holdings Limited to carry out that function. A partnership of Arup Group, Ernst & Young and SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit were appointed temporarily to support them in that function.
Abellio is a Dutch public transport company that operates bus and rail services in Germany, and formerly also in Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It is wholly owned by the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).
Abellio ScotRail, operating services under the name ScotRail, was the national train operating company of Scotland. A subsidiary of the Netherlands-based transport conglomerate Abellio, it operated the ScotRail franchise between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022.
Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland. It commenced operations on 1 March 2015, taking over from East Coast as a joint venture between Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin Group (10%).
The Wales & Borders franchise is a railway franchise for passenger services in the United Kingdom operated since 7 February 2021 by publicly owned operator, Transport for Wales Rail. The franchise covers the majority of rail services in Wales, with some services in the bordering English regions and counties, notably North West England, the West Midlands, and Gloucestershire.
Northern Trains, trading as Northern, is a British train operating company owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT), after the previous operator Arriva Rail North had its franchise terminated at the end of February 2020.
DfT OLR Holdings Limited (DOHL) is a holding company established by the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom to act as operator of last resort for rail franchises that are nationalised.
TransPennine Trains Ltd, trading as TransPennine Express, is a British train operating company that has operated the TransPennine Express franchise area services since 28 May 2023. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major cities and towns of Northern England and Scotland. The company, which is government-owned, was established following poor performance by the previous operator, also called TransPennine Express. It has carried over the rolling stock, passenger services, and branding.