15.10.12
Virgin gets West Coast franchise extension after DfT fiasco
West Coast incumbent Virgin will be asked to continue to run services on the franchise for 9-13 months, after the decision to award the contract to FirstGroup was overturned.
The Government is planning to enter negotiations with Virgin for a temporary contract whilst a new competition is run. The decision was cancelled on October 3, after “technical flaws” came to light in the process.
Other franchises up for renewal have also been suspended and are under review. The estimated cost of reimbursement for the scrapping of the contract is £40m.
DfT said: “The Government believes that this is the best way to ensure services are maintained and that there is no impact on passengers.”
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “My priority now is to fix the problem and the first step is to take urgent action to ensure that... services continue to run to the same standard and passengers are not affected.
“I believe Virgin remaining as operator for a short period of time is the best way to do this and my officials and I will be working flat out to make this happen.”
McLoughlin will announce further details of the new contract this afternoon in the House of Commons.
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