DfT issues guidance for potential bidders in Prospectus for East Midlands franchise

The Department for Transport (DfT) published its prospectus for the next East Midlands franchise on 16th November 2016.  Its purpose is to set out guidance for potential bidders for the franchise and it is subject to change in the light of further consultation, starting in December 2016.  It identifies the DfT's aims for the franchise in terms of growth and innovation.  One snippet that caught our eye was on page 23 of the document, where it says "There is an opportunity to further invest in and develop the commuter market between South Leicestershire and London from December 2019 onwards, following the addition of a sixth path from St Pancras to serve Corby. This will allow bidders to consider how the provision of services can be used to enhance additional capacity for commuters on this route, while also creating journey time improvements on services to Nottingham and Sheffield."
We in HRU await the launch of the public consultation.  In the meantime, the prospectus is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/569286/east-midlands-rail-franchise-competition-prospectus.pdf