Public
and Private Partnerships are increasingly deployed by governments
throughout the world to leverage private finance into public
services, including railways. Because the UK entered this field at an
early stage there is a track record of both success and failure which
together account for a substantial experience in how to construct
such arrangements as well as how not to do so.
Because
of its UK experience and an insistence on looking at the
public-private interface objectively and without prejudice either
way, First Class Partnerships is ideally placed to support the
development of government policy
in this area as well as to advise private companies on the balance of
risk and opportunity inherent in PFIs. Our technical capabilities
are especially strong in terms of understanding the supply
chain and wheel-rail interface issues
that will impact on PFI contracts, not only from the point of view of
safety,
security and the environment but also
understanding how regulation
may impact outcomes. We also understand how different types of
initiative can impact on the success of a PFI contract – including
infrastructure specification,
design and development as well as train
crew deployment and productivity.
First
Class Partnerships has worked on both sides of the concessioning
divide in the UK
in developing PFIs including contracts
negotiation.
