21 October 2004 – LAWFUEL – Law, legal, law firm, attorney news Herbert Smith has advised Serco-NedRailways in their successful bid to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) to run the new Northern Rail franchise, the contract for which was signed on 18 October 2004.
Serco-NedRailway will run the country’s largest rail network for up to 8¾ years starting on 12 December 2004.
The Northern franchise contract is the second to be let since the SRA introduced a new form of franchise agreement and the first to be let since the publication of the “Future of Rail White Paper”.
The Herbert Smith team was led by infrastructure partner Julia Pyke. She was assisted by John Williams.
Julia Pyke commented:
“We are very pleased to have assisted Serco-NedRailways close this complex deal.”
Mark Brunton at Eversheds led the team advising the Strategic Rail Authority.
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Notes to editors
Herbert Smith has advised on many of the UK’s highest profile rail transactions in recent years, including:
• London Underground Ltd (LUL) as its key legal adviser for PPP and PFI matters
• London and Continental Railways (LCR) throughout all aspects of its involvement in the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL)
• Eurotunnel, operator of the Channel Tunnel, on corporate, finance, competition and many other aspects of its business since the mid-1980s
• Passenger rail replacement franchise bids for South West Trains and the East Coast Mainline
Herbert Smith is an international law firm with 1000 lawyers (including over 200 partners) and a network of offices in Europe and Asia. It has a formal alliance with the leading German firm, Gleiss Lutz, and the leading Dutch and Belgian firm, Stibbe.
