Chinese try to run London rail service

A Chinese firm is bidding to take over London's mainline commuter train services, it emerged today.

The MTR Corporation of Hong Kong, which runs one of the busiest Metros in the world, today signed a contract with long-distance train operator GNER in a bid to take over the South Eastern Trains franchise following the sacking of Connex last year.

Service on the franchise - between south-east London and Kent - has been poor for some years. Now the Chinese firm believes it has a very real chance of both winning the bid and improving service on the busiest of London's commuter routes.

South Eastern Trains has been run for the past 12 months by the Strategic Rail Authority - putting the franchise back under public control.

During that time reliability and time-keeping has improved several percentage points. The rail unions have joined forces in a campaign to keep the franchise under public control but Transport Secretary Alistair Darling insists it will but put back into the private sector.

The MTR/GNER bid is one of four shortlisted to take over the contract. The other bidders are: DSB (Danish Railways); First Kent Integrated Railways Ltd (FirstGroup plc); and London South Eastern Railway Ltd (a consortium of Go-Ahead Group and Keolis).

MTR is convinced that it can bring London's harassed commuters the reliability and punctuality their Hong Kong counterparts take for granted: its

25-year-old Metro service in Hong Kong has a 99 per

cent punctuality record, of which the company is very proud.

Only last week, when a train suffered a fiveminute delay it made the front page of the South China Morning Post. Horrified MTR chiefs ordered an internal investigation.

Stations on the Hong Kong system look as though they have been built last week. There is no gum on the platforms, no graffiti scrawled on trains or station walls. "Zero tolerance" is the by-word of MTR.

Phil Gaffney, MTR's managing director, said that in the event of a successful bid he would concentrate on improving train reliability. Mr Gaffney, 57, said: "We can bring the same level of quality services to Kent passengers that Hong Kong commuters have come to expect."

Company directors also today made it clear they intend bidding to take over other mainline commuter routes.

A team of senior staff have made several visits to the UK to travel on other services in readiness for future bids.

MTR, which advises on rail construction projects around the world, is keen to establish itself in the European market and intends using the UK railways as a gateway.

Mr Gaffney refused to say which other services MTR was interested in, but said they would be "heavily used franchises" serving highly populated areas around the capital.

Thameslink, Silverlink and First Great Western Link (formerly Thames Trains) are due to come up for franchise renewal in two years' time.