ORR invitation (6 pages, PDF) for stakeholders to provide feedback on the arrangements established by ORR to enable third-party investments in the mainline rail network in Great Britain (see the policy, guidelines and rebate system). ORR is looking for:

information, preferably broken down by specific elements of a project, on what went well and what less well and what impact any project ‘failures’ had on timescales and costs, including abandonment of projects and appetite for future investments.

Responses by Friday 25 July 2008.

London Underground PPP Arbiter notice (13 pages, PDF) of its timetable for giving guidance on what Tube Lines' allowed revenues for 2010-2017 would be if existing obligations were not changed. A consultation on draft guidance is due by Friday 15 August 2008.

French court of auditors report (167 pages in French, PDF) on the reform and regulation of railway infrastructure in France. The report highlights two options for the future:

• Turning RFF into an independent, State-supported infrastructure company, by transferring 55,000 SNCF infrastructure staff to it.
• Transferring the infrastructure management duties to a subsidiary of SNCF, having first transferred to the State the burden of RFF debts that cannot be commercially paid for.

The report also recommends the transfer of functions to resolve disputes between SNCF and other train operators to an independent regulatory authority.

There is a colourful summary (18 pages in French, PDF).

PPP Arbiter notice (5 pages, PDF) that London Underground has asked for a "best estimate" of Tube Lines' allowed revenues for 2010-2017 based on existing obligations. London Underground wishes to use this estimate in order to determine what additional outputs it could afford to ask for as part of the periodic review process in 2009.

Competition Commission notices of changes to the price control systems for First's bus services in Glasgow and Edinburgh, following the February 2008 consultation.

OFT decision (11 pages, PDF) clearing FirstGroup's acquisition of the Cornish bus operator Truronian. The prospects of entry or expansion by other operators were considered to provide sufficient competitive constraints on the merged entity.

OFT decision (11 pages, PDF) clearing the acquisition of the bus business of Stanley Taxis in the North East of England by the Go-Ahead group. The clearance is based on a view that the potential for new entry by operators with neighbouring depots in markets affected by the transaciton provides a sufficient competitive constraint.

Department for Transport statement (about 2 pages) announcing that ministers will now seek to extract a "facilitation fee" of £1 million or 5 per cent of the sale proceeds (whichever is greater) in exchange for their consent to a change of control of a passenger railway franchise. This fee is in addition to the recovery of adminstrative costs of processing the application for consent.