West Coast Main Line rail franchise deal scrapped

Name: West Coast Main Line rail franchise deal scrapped
Uploaded: 2012-10-03T10:05:09.000Z
Duration: 3 min 2 s
Description: Sir Richard Branson has declared the franchise bidding process for the West Coast Main Line a "fiasco", after the government scrapped a decision to award FirstGroup the route.

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Sir Richard Branson has declared the franchise bidding process for the West Coast Main Line a "fiasco", after the government scrapped a decision to award FirstGroup the route.

Branson's Virgin Trains currently runs services on the line, but FirstGroup was scheduled to take over in just a few months.

Three Department for Transport civil servants have been suspended after it emerged there had been "technical flaws" in the competition process.

Richard Westcott reports.

3 October 2012