The Department for Transport today (19 March) published a strategy setting out how it intends to lengthen the current 9-car trains to 11 carriages as well as buying four new 9-car trains that will allow existing rolling stock to be taken out of service for carriage lengthening without disrupting the new Virgin High Frequency timetable, due to be introduced in January 2009.

According to the strategy, the DfT intends to appoint a 'shadow' train operator which will be responsible for taking delivery of new carriages from manufacturer Alstom and liaising with rolling stock leasing company Angel Trains, which will finance and own the new vehicles. The successful bidder would be responsible for testing the trains on the National Rail network in order to secure safety acceptance certificates and would oversee enhancements to train depots and work to extend station platforms to support 11-car services. Responsibility for introducing the new trains would transfer to the new West Coast franchise in 2012 at which point the shadow operator contract would end.

In order to be able to test the new rolling stock, the successful bidder would have to be cleared by Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation to run trains on the National Rail network. This means the contract is likely to go to an existing train operator that currently runs passenger or freight services.

Negotiations between the government and Virgin Trains to lengthen the Pendolino fleet have been ongoing for more than three years but have come to nothing with Virgin demanding an extension to its current franchise, due to end on 31 March 2012, in return for ordering the additional rolling stock.

The new Pendolino strategy makes clear that the DfT is not bound to proceeding with the measures described in the document so in theory Virgin could still reach agreement with the government to buy the new carriages. However, the detailed plans to introduce a shadow train operator imply that the government feels unable to reach agreement with the current franchisee. They also raise questions about whether Virgin can hope to win the new West Coast franchise, due to begin in 2012, given that the government feels it needs to work with a third party to expand the train fleet. Meanwhile, the successful bidder for the shadow contract would be able to bring its experience working with the Pendolino fleet to any bid for the new franchise.