How long was the franchise?
It was a seven-year franchise with an option to extend to ten years. 2. How did First Great Western view the possibility of extra visitors to the area because of World Heritage Site status? FGW view the potential future use of the line to attract visitors to the WHS very positively. It was important to find a purpose for branch lines; the Gunnislake line has traditionally had its main purpose in carrying commuters to Plymouth. However, the World Heritage Site (WHS) could even be the key to running more services, eg hourly First Great Western would be pleased to work with the WHS organisers to explore the future potential. (A point was made by a Member that it might be a good idea for Network Rail to consider opening up the views from the trains along the line) 3. Was the shortage of trains due to cost or availability of rolling stock? The current difficulty was not caused by a lack of trains FGW was currently leasing more trains than were needed to run the service. The problem was caus
