1 We designed this study to evaluate how successfully the Department has assumed responsibility for passenger rail franchises, examining:
■ how well it specifies and procures franchises, including how the specifications link with the Department's wider transport objectives;
■ the likely financial impact of the franchises;
■ the likely impact on passengers; and
■ how well the Department identifies, allocates and manages franchising risks.
2 The Department has let eight franchises (Figure 1). The first three of these were awarded in 2005 and had been specified by the SRA. The most recent four were being negotiated and let during 2007, while we were carrying out our fieldwork. For these reasons, we examined in detail the South Western franchise, which was the first franchise specified and procured under the Department's new processes and procedures. From this work, we obtained an in-depth understanding of the Department's approach. This enabled us to identify the key documents we later examined for the other seven franchises.