Railways: Coronavirus

(asked on 30th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the COVID Emergency Management Arrangements (EMA) with Train Operating Companies (TOC), what provisions are included in the EMA to ensure that TOCs are not in a financially advantageous position under the EMA than their financial performance under their franchise agreements in the months before the covid-19 lockdown.


Answered by
Chris Heaton-Harris Portrait
Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This question was answered on 8th July 2020

The Emergency Measures Agreements (EMAs) temporarily suspend the normal financial mechanisms of franchise agreements, transferring all revenue and cost risk to the government. Operators are required to continue to fulfil their obligations under the EMAs for a small, pre-determined management fee. Fees are set at a maximum of 2 per cent of the cost base of the franchise before the Covid-19 pandemic began, intended to incentivise operators to meet reliability, punctuality and other targets. The maximum fee attainable was set on the basis that it will be lower than the returns attainable in operator’s existing franchise agreements where they bore revenue risk.

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