Government cancels decision to award rail franchise for West Coast Main Line to FirstGroup

[whole diary]

[trainer]

Aaargh! The puns get (delightfully) worse.  Is everyone on this forum under the influence of drink?

[Chris from Nailsea]

I think these puns are beginning to make a mocha-ry of this topic.

Well, you started it ... 

[TonyK]

Is everyone on this forum under the influence of drink?

It's a fair cop.

[chuffed]

In that case we had all better go tea-total for a while,as we  all seem to have gone to the dregs.....hope no one has any grounds for complaint !

[TonyK]

Too latte for that.

[trainer]

Enough already! This is completely....oh..tea tea!

[chuffed]

Seems if we're all going loco under the influence of cocoa ....

Speaking of which, I wonder who will be going loco after the publication of the Laidlaw report later this week. The Transport Secretary has sat on it for a week.... might have been a 'good day to bury bad news' by bringing it out at the same time as the Leveson enquiry report.

[trainer]

I found this reference today about said report

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/2012/12/04/dft-criticised-over-rail-franchise-91466-32358276/

It seems that MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) are also miffed at the non-appearance and a strong admonishment from the chair of the Transport Select Committee for the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) wasting their time.  Not sure why they expected to be treated any differently from Virgin, First and the taxpayer.

[Chris from Nailsea]

More background detail, albeit slightly belatedly (for which, my apologies) from RailNews:

Laidlaw report stays under wraps after legal move

The final report into the reasons why the West Coast franchise competition collapsed is staying under wraps for now, because one of the three DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) civil servants suspended on 3 October is taking her grievances to the High Court today.

Kate Mingay is alleging that her suspension was unjustified and damaging to her career.

The final version of the Laidlaw report is reported to have been supplied to the DfT slightly ahead of time and was due to be published tomorrow, but transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has decided to keep its contents secret while legal uncertainties exist, and particularly while there remains a possibility that other legal claims could be made.

The West Coast crisis is still far from resolved in any case --- particularly because no agreement has yet been announced with Virgin Trains about the terms of an emergency operating contract, which needs to start at 02.00 on Sunday week -- 9 December -- if West Coast intercity trains are to keep running.

Virgin has been locked in talks with the DfT since 15 October, after the Department for Transport apparently abandoned its alternative plan to bring in a management team from its own subsidiary Directly Operated Railways.

The House of Commons Transport Committee is set to hear evidence about the latest West Coast developments from the transport secretary and his permanent secretary Philip Rutnam next week, but the legal challenge has cast doubt about much detail they will be willing to give to MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament), at least for the time being.

[JayMac]

Railway Eye blog is saying that sources believe DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) and Virgin have reached agreement on ICWC^▸ (InterCity West Coast) franchise extension. 13 months.

http://railwayeye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/west-coast-franchise-agreement-reached.html

[TonyK]

I shall wait for news to filter through. (Sorry, done it again)

[Southern Stag]

Rumours now circulating of a 2-year extension with the planned 2-year franchise binned. If that has been agreed it seems like a logical decision, saving on the vast expense of a franchise process for such a short period.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Virgin Trains to run West Coast Mainline for extra 23 months

The government has announced Virgin Trains will run the West Coast Mainline for a further 23 months - hours before a report into the collapse of the line's franchise deal is published.

An inquiry has examined why the ^5bn deal collapsed in October.

First Group was initially told it had won, but the tendering process was halted because the Department for Transport made numerical mistakes.

Monday's temporary deal means Virgin will run trains until 9 November 2014.

The government said the Department for Transport would be able to shorten the 23-month period "by up to six months if a subsequent franchise can be let on a shorter timescale".

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin also announced a new hourly service between Glasgow and London, adding: "We are determined to ensure not only that passengers continue to experience the same levels of service they have in the past, but that services improve."

The BBC understands Mr McLoughlin is expected to make a statement to the Commons on the West Coast franchise at 11:30 GMT.

The Department for Transport was forced to scrap the original bid to run trains between London, Manchester and Glasgow because of the miscalculations. Three officials are still suspended.

The inquiry into the collapsed tendering process was led by Centrica chief executive Sam Laidlaw.

The first report from Sam Laidlaw, last October, talked of officials not following their own guidelines, not treating the bidders equally, failing to include inflation in their figures and ignoring warnings of possible problems months before the deal capsized.

According to BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott, this latest, and final report by Mr Laidlaw will cast more light on why it all went wrong, but is unlikely to name names.

That has been left to another inquiry, which has been completed, but will not be made public.

Mr Laidlaw had been due to appear before the House of Commons Transport Select Committee this week, but he will now give his evidence on 18 December.

The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union, Bob Crow, said there had been a "reckless high-wire act that has taken the negotiations between Virgin and the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) right to the very brink".

"Because of the shocking ineptitude right at the top of this rotten government, Sir Richard Branson has muscled his way into a monopoly provider position and him and his Virgin Trains shareholders will be laughing all the way to the bank.

"The case for renationalisation of Britain's railways is now overwhelming."

[IndustryInsider]

Good to see that the proposed interim contract, followed by a short franchise, followed by a proper franchise has been slimmed down to just the interim contract and then proper franchise.

[trainer]

So Laidlaw has finally been published and is unequivocal about where the blame lies: within the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about).  I believe the removal of so many committed and experienced railway men and women (some of whom transferred in from the Strategic Rail Authority when it was disbanded) in the cull of the civil service at the beginning of this government's tenure could not have helped in maintaining continuity and knowledge essential to running the franchise process.  Civil service practice seems to be against staying in one sphere for long so long-term experience is missing.  I have no idea about the background of the three civil servants removed when the ordure and spinning machine first collided in October, but I do know that some of those given their marching orders previously (redundant they were told) had considerable experience in the administration of railways and cared about the service provided.  Sometimes we only know the value of what we have lost when it's too late.

(I am not a redundant or any other kind of civil servant!)