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A team from Fieldfisher has advised the Department for Transport (DfT) on a transaction enabling rail passengers on South West Trains, the UK's busiest commuter network, to benefit from a £50 million package of improvements. The deal is captured in an amendment to the current South West Trains franchise agreement between Stagecoach Group and the DfT.
The agreement means millions of pounds worth of passenger improvement initiatives will be introduced between now and February 2017.
Planned improvements to include:
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A new online booking system and an expansion of South West Trains' smart ticketing programme which will allow joined up journeys with London's bus and Tube network.
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New website and mobile app which will make buying the best value tickets easier.
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Introduction of 170 easy-to-use ticket machines.
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1400 additional parking spaces at stations across the network.
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More than 57,000 additional seats across 40 services.
The Fieldfisher team was led by John Worthy and John Cassels, partners in the firm's Rail and Infrastructure Group, supported by associate Lowri Maher and solicitor Sarim Shaikh, among others. The group has many years' experience of working on strategic projects across the rail sector, from franchising and technology infrastructure to procurement and construction.
John Worthy commented:
"This package of improvements from South West Trains, with its strong focus on customer service, will make a huge difference to passengers on the many busy routes served by this franchise. We are delighted to support the Department for Transport in the modernisation of the railway.”
John Cassels commented:
"We are pleased to support the Department for Transport on this important project, following our recent work with them on the £210 million procurement of a fleet of 30 new five-carriage trains from Siemens and Angel Trains."