OLR TAKES OVER RUNNING OF LSER SERVICES

Following the government announcement on 28 September 2021 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-takes-over-running-of-lser-services-in-response-to-over-25-million-breach-of-franchise-agreement), the Operator of Last Resort (OLR) will take over the running of LSER services from 17 October 2021.

HS1 Limited (HS1) is in contact with the OLR and fully expects all liabilities incurred by LSER to be taken on by the new operator, and is able to rely on the FWT that is in place until May 2022. Furthermore, there is no expected change to a key HS1 creditor protection, the Domestic Underpin Agreement. We are currently reviewing contracts that are in place to see if any changes are required for the new operator prior to the transition on 17 October.

We are working with the DfT and the OLR to ensure we can support the transition in any way we can.