Project:

The Thameslink Programme scope includes the following significant elements to deliver a complete and upgraded railway system:

• Improving tracks and stations including extending platforms, reconstructing Blackfriars, Farringdon and London Bridge stations and introducing new signalling technology, expected to cost £3.55 billion (in 2006 prices). Network Rail is doing this work for the Department, funded by the Department’s network grant
• Buying a fleet of new trains and two new maintenance depots, with an estimated capital cost of £1.6 billion, which the Department is financing through a private finance initiative (PFI)
• New franchise arrangements for running the passenger service on the Thameslink route

The programme has a long history with the first proposals to increase capacity made in 1989 and developed by a succession of rail industry sponsors in the 1990s and early 2000s. The Department only became sponsor of the programme in July 2005. The Department has made most progress in implementing the infrastructure project, with the first phase delivered in December 2011 under budget and on time. It has, however, had to revise its plans for delivering the second phase and change the timetable for delivery from 2015 to 2018. The project to buy new trains has taken longer than expected and the award of contract for the new trains has been delayed by more than three years so far. The Department also revised the timetable for the Thameslink franchising project, largely as a result of the pause to the franchising programme after the Department cancelled the InterCity West Coast franchise competition.

Services:

Equib Limited were commissioned to develop the governance, risk and planning elements of the system integration for the programme. The scope of services offered to the Department for Transport included:

• Development and maintenance to the system migration plan and update it as appropriate to reflect changes to baseline assumptions
• Carry out scenario modelling for any proposed changes to the baseline programme
• Develop and maintain a jointly owned integrated industry programme – the 24 trains per hour (tph) Industry Plan
• Identify where action is needed to achieve compatibility of infrastructure, rolling stock, franchise and third party activities to achieve the key output dates • Develop and maintain a System Integration cross party issues log, cross party risk register, cross party opportunities log and cross party hazard log for regular review
• Support benefits realisation through the development and monitoring of the Benefits Realisation Plan
• Prepare and submit a Periodic system integration report every 4 weeks to the Programme Industry Board