Future rail franchise bidding will be "simpler"
The government has announced that Virgin Trains will continue to run the West Coast Mainline for a further 23 months, following mistakes over the bidding process to win the franchise deal.
An inquiry examined why the deal collapsed in October after First Group was initially told it had won, but the process was halted because the Department of Transport made numerical mistakes.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has told MPs there was a failure by the department and said the future franchise bidding process would be simpler and more efficient.