Editing Rail transport in Great Britain (section)

===Competition Commission===
On 29 November 2006, following a June 2006 complaint by the DfT alleging excessive pricing by the ROSCOs, the [[Office of Rail and Road|Office of Rail Regulation]] (as it was then called) announced it was minded to refer the operation of the market for passenger rolling stock to the [[Competition Commission]], citing, amongst other factors, problems in the DfT's own franchising policy as responsible for what may be regarded as a dysfunctional market. ORR said it will consult the industry and the public on what to do, and will publish its decision in April 2007. If the ORR does refer the market to the Competition Commission, there may well be a hiatus in investment in new rolling stock whilst the ROSCOs and their parent companies wait to hear what return they will be allowed to make on their train fleets. This could have the [[unintended consequence]] of intensifying the problem of overcrowding on some routes because TOCs will be unable to lengthen their trains or acquire new ones if they need the ROSCOs to co-operate in their acquisition or financing. Some commentators have suggested that such an outcome would be detrimental to the public interest. This is especially striking since the [[National Audit Office (United Kingdom)|National Audit Office]], in its November 2006 report on the renewal and upgrade of the West Coast Main Line, said that the capacity of the trains and the network will be full in the next few years and advocated train lengthening as an important measure to cope with sharply higher passenger numbers.

The Competition Commission conducted an investigation and published provisional findings<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/press_rel/2008/aug/pdf/22-08.pdf |publisher=Competition Commission |title=Rolling stock leasing market investigation: Provisional findings |date=7 August 2008 |access-date=26 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023151028/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/press_rel/2008/aug/pdf/22-08.pdf |archive-date=23 October 2008 |url-status=usurped  }}</ref> on 7 August 2008. The report was published on 7 April 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/assets/competitioncommission/docs/pdf/non-inquiry/rep_pub/reports/2009/fulltext/546|title=Rolling Stock Leasing market investigation|website=Competition Commission|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520220434/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/assets/competitioncommission/docs/pdf/non-inquiry/rep_pub/reports/2009/fulltext/546|archive-date=20 May 2014}}</ref> A press release{{cn|date=September 2024}} summarised the recommendations as follows:

* introduce longer franchise terms (in the region of 12 to 15 years or longer), which would allow TOCs to realise the benefits and recover the costs of switching to alternative new or used rolling stock over a longer period, which should increase the incentives and ability for TOCs to exercise choice
* assess the benefits of alternative new or used rolling stock proposals beyond the franchise term and across other franchises when evaluating franchise bids. This will encourage a wider choice of rolling stock to be considered in franchise proposals, irrespective of franchise length
* ensure franchise invitations to tender (ITTs) are specified in such a way franchise bidders are allowed a choice of rolling stock
* requiring the ROSCOs to remove non-discrimination requirements from the Codes of Practice, which would provide greater incentives for the TOCs to seek improved terms from the ROSCOs
* requiring rolling stock lessors to provide TOCs with a set list of information when making a lease rental offer for used rolling stock, which would give TOCs the ability to negotiate more effectively