I think I'm allowed to quote a short extract from christian Woolmar's article in "critical comment":
Uniquely of FirstGroup^s franchises, FGW▸ was, until recently, run directly by the company^s finance director, Dean Finch, a man for whom the expression ^bean-counter^ might have been invented because it was seen as the cash cow for the group^s business. All the others were the responsibility of Andrew Haines, the former head of South West Trains, who showed there that he is a good operator. Indeed, some of the other First franchises, notably TransPennine Express and ScotRail, are among the best, and now, interestingly, after all the flak - which, according to one source, has ^troubled the top table^ - Haines is to get control of FGW.
It darned well OUGHT to have troubled the top table - the british public in these parts will accept a huge amount of nonsense, but this has worn pretty this - and First has become something of a dirty word in these parts. Let's hope that Andrew can bring an improved service which also brings improved results for First - surely that's in everyone's interest.
