Virgin Rail confirms legal action against Network Rail over WCML

TRANSPORT group Stagecoach, minority stakeholder of Virgin Rail, has confirmed that the West Coast Main Line service operator is to take enforcement action against Network Rail for breach of contract.

In its annual results statement today, Stagecoach said Virgin had suffered because of poor punctuality and this had deterred passengers from using the service.

It is ironic the statement comes just days after the Government announcement it was investing £40m into upgrades on the line.

In its statement, Stagecoach said: “Virgin Rail Group remains concerned at the sustained poor performance by Network Rail on the West Coast Main Line. The Office of Rail Regulation has also criticised Network Rail for failing to meet punctuality targets on long-distance routes in general.

“Punctuality on West Coast has suffered in recent months and Network Rail has failed to meet most of its targets over the last two years. This has deterred some passengers from travelling and directly affected customers’ experience and perception of rail travel. As a result, VRG is preparing enforcement action against Network Rail for breach of contract.”

VRG is currently operating the WCML service on behalf of the Department for Transport until 2017. This will give Whitehall time to revise tendering arrangements for its rail franchises following the WCML fiasco last year which saw VRG stripped of the franchise in favour of FirstRail only to withdraw the award later when Virgin complained the rival bid was unsustainable.

Stagecoach confirmed that VRG would bid for the long-term WCML franchise once the new franchise arrangements were agreed.

Despite the WCML problems, figures from Stagecoach’s annual results show that in the year to April 30, 2013 VRG saw a 2.8% increase in revenues to £441.5m (2012: £429.5m). However, operating profit fell 40.5% to £12.8m (2012: £21.5m) with pre-tax profit down 38.4% to £9.8m (2012: £15.9m).

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