Prism Rail plc
IndustryTransport
FoundedJuly 1995
Defunct19 September 2000
FateTakeover
SuccessorNational Express
ProductsRail transport

Prism Rail[1] was a British passenger rail company formed in July 1995 to bid for rail franchises in the United Kingdom during the privatisation of British Rail. It expressed interest in eighteen franchises, was shortlisted for twelve and was ultimately awarded four, LTS Rail, Valley Lines, Wales & West, and West Anglia Great Northern.[2]

History

Prism Rail was established by a number of individuals from the private bus industry with the intention of securing one or more of the passenger rail franchises that were being created by the privatisation of British Rail.[3][4] In order to finance its bid for its first franchise, the company secured external backing, initially from a small number of institutional investors and subsequently via an the company's listing on the Alternative Investment Market in May 1996.[4] During January 1997, Prism Rail was forced to abandon a £30 million bonus share scheme intended for its management after several of the company's investors expressed their dissatisfaction, with some claiming it to have been excessively generous.[5]

In May 1996, it was announced that the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising had awarded the London, Tilbury and Southend franchise franchise to Prism Rail for a period of 15 years; operations of LTS Rail commenced later that same month.[6] The terms of franchise included its potential to be curtailed to only seven years if the operator did not fulfil bid commitments to replace the existing rolling stock with new trains.[7] Accordingly, during 1997, Prism Rail placed an order valued at £92 million with the multinational rolling stock manufacturer Adtranz for the production of 44 Class 357 "Electrostar" EMUs.[8]

In its bid for the West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) franchise, Prism Rail promised that it would make a premium payment of £24.8 million to the franchising office in 2004.[9] During December 1996, it was announced that that the company had been awarded a seven year concession to operate the WAGN franchise; it was the fourth awarding of a passenger train franchise to Prism Rail by that time.[10][11] By 1999, according to statistics compiled by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising, West Anglia Great Northern was amongst the best performing franchises, being one of only seven franchises to obtain a B grade, for which its average punctuality had to be above 90 per cent while its average reliability figures had to be exceed 99 per cent.[12] In July 2000, the company had agreed to invest £20.5m into the network, and had reported that the Great Northern portion of the franchise' operations were running at a profit.[13]

In July 2000, Prism Rail was purchased by the British transport specialist National Express.[13][14] The integration of the two companies was formally completed on 19 September 2000.[15]

On 2 July 2000, LTS Rail was rebranded as c2c.[16][17] In March 2001, National Express combined the management and support functions of c2c, Silverlink, WAGN, and Stansted Express in a single organisation called London Lines.[18]

During October 2001, the company's two franchises in Wales, Valley Lines and Wales & West, were reorganised, after which the new Wales & Borders franchise assumed responsibility for the majority of services in Wales as shown on its map.[19] On 1 August 2003, in spite of National Express's bid to retain it, the Strategic Rail Authority awarded the new franchise to Arriva UK Trains.[20][21]

References

  1. ^ "Prism Rail Plc - company no: 3081303". Companies House. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Passenger Rail Franchises". 31 January 2002. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  3. ^ Poole, Fiona (8 August 1996). "Rail Passenger Franchises" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b Harrison, Michael (15 October 1996). "Founders of Prism Rail in £27m shares bonanza". The Independent.
  5. ^ Tooher, Patrick (21 January 1997). "Prism drops share scheme after big investors' protest". The Independent.
  6. ^ Grimond, Magnus (30 May 1996). "Soaring Prism renews rail sale attack". The Independent. London, UK.
  7. ^ "Office of Passenger Rail Franchising:The award of the first three passenger rail franchises". National Audit Office. 16 October 1996. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  8. ^ "UK Business Park UK Activity Report – ADtranz". UK Business Park. 5 March 1997. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  9. ^ "West Anglia Great Northern (WAGN) Railway correspondence: includes railway business plan..." discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. 31 December 1995.
  10. ^ Tooher, Patrick (7 December 1996). "Prism wins franchise for Great Northern". The Independent. London.
  11. ^ "West Anglia Great Northern Franchise Invitation to Tender". railwaysarchive.co.uk. 6 August 1996.
  12. ^ "WAGN reviews brief at Mustoe". marketingweek.com. 4 March 1999.
  13. ^ a b Osborne, Alistair (19 July 2000). "National Express buys Prism for £166m". The Daily Telegraph.
  14. ^ "National Express buys Prism for £166m". The Guardian. 19 July 2000.
  15. ^ "Base Prospectus: National Express" (PDF). Merrill Corporation. 21 December 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  16. ^ "LTS Rail relaunches as c2c". Rail Magazine. No. 386. 28 June 2000. p. 4.
  17. ^ "New website for new rail company c2c". c2c-online.co.uk. 19 June 2000. Archived from the original on 9 February 2001. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Annual Report 2001" (PDF). National Express. 2002. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  19. ^ "Route map" (PDF). Wales & Borders. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2003.
  20. ^ "SRA Announces Preferred Bidder for New Integrated Wales Franchise" (Press release). Strategic Rail Authority. 1 August 2003. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  21. ^ "Four still in race for Wales & Borders". Rail Magazine. No. 446. 16 October 2002. p. 12.


Categories