The transport company that is set to replace Virgin Trains as the operator of the West Coast Mainline, which runs through Liverpool, has been slammed over plans to spend ^7 million on advertising.
FirstGroup beat Sir Richard Branson's company in the race to operate the line last week after bidding ^2 billion more than Virgin Trains.
Now it has emerged that it has issued a ^7m an advertising account brief to marketing agengies for a campaign to enhance the FirstGroup brand.
Labour
MP▸ Rosie Cooper called the decision "shocking" and called on the government to scrutinise the contract before it is signed.
Mrs Cooper, MP for West Lancashire, said: "This amount of money on advertising is shocking.
"I'm certain that this cost will be passed on to the customers at a time when rail fares are already very high.
"The best advertising First Group could do is to invest this money in rolling stock and ensuring a good experience travelling on their trains to ensure commuters are well-served.
"Word of mouth about excellent services is always the best advertising.
"Unfortunately, the word of mouth about First Group's track record is not at all encouraging.
"I believe we ought to be worried about this contract and what it will mean for services on the West Coast Mainline.
"Before this contract is signed, Parliament should have the opportunity to scrutinise it. I have signed the petition and hope the Government listens before its too late."
FirstGroup is due to run the West Coast Mainline from December this year until 2028 and promised to attract millions more customers to the service.
A Virgin Trains spokesman called FirstGroup's successful bid as "over ambitious".
He said: "We can't comment on their commercial contracts, because how they package up their money is up to them.
"But it is our view that their bid is over-ambitious.
"We are concerned about their ability to provide the premiums to government. If they are to produce these kinds of figures then it is a very tall order.
"We put in a great bid and tested it on the kinds of levels which FirstGroup said they can deliver.
"Our concern is around how the bids have been evaluated.
"FirstGroup have offered more money than anyone, but the Department for Transport need to make sure that those sort of figures can be delivered."
A FirstGroup spokesman denied that any ticket prices will be increased.
He said: "We are putting a lot of investment in growth which includes marketing spend.
"We want to get millions more passengers on these trains and cut standard anytime fares by 15%.
"There will be absolutely no increase in ticket prices or any detrimental effect to prices or services provided.
"The capacity on the line is only at about 35% now and we are looking to increase that."
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