06-01-2024, 06:55 PM
Maybe an early sign of the consolidation came in 1993, when Yorkshire took over Tyne tees. It was apparently a merger, but it wasn't really. Both had bid high to keep their franchises, and the takeover allowed costs to be cut, with lots of things moving to Leeds. I do wonder if the ITC could, at the franchise application process, have sought guarantees from the bidders they wouldn't buy or sell to another for a period of time.