Crunch time for Government as pressure mounts over West Coast ruling
THE Government is facing a crucial test of its rail franchising policy after pressure continued to mount following its decision to award the contract to operate the West Coast Mainline to FirstGroup.
More than 150,000 people have signed an online petition demanding the decision be addressed in Parliament while Sir Richard Branson, boss of ousted franchisee Virgin Rail, and Labour are demanding the Government review the decision.
Should the Government fail to take action then Virgin may opt to mount a legal challenge to the ruling claiming further scrutiny is needed.
The Virgin boss, thought to be fuming at the decision, has publicly said he is doubtful that First Group will be able to deliver on its pledge to operate the service, which covers the vital between London and Scotland via big cities such as Birmingham and Manchester.
It is possible Virgin may even demand a judicial review into the Government’s decision, challenging whether it was right to award the contract, which is due to begin in December and run until 2026.
Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle said the contract award would cover the next three Parliaments and yet MPs whose constituencies were affected by the decision had not had chance to debate the decision.
She has written to her Government counterpart Justine Greening urging her not to sign off on the contract until it has been properly debated.
There is a lot riding on the decision for the Government. George Osborne is thought to have told Minister earlier this month it was important the right contracts were awarded in order to give major projects such as the HS2 high speed rail link the best chance of succeeding.
FirstGroup has pledged to make a series of improvements to the WCML service but Virgin has raised concerns it will be unable to deliver on its promises because of the high price involved, while also being sceptical it can achieve the kind of passenger volumes it is predicting.
Business leaders in the West Midlands want the best possible service for the area and have already urged FirstGroup to deliver on what it promises.
One of the most significant pledges would see the re-introduction of services from Shrewsbury to London from 2016.
