Labour calls for West Coast delay

Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle has said the decision to take the franchise from Virgin Trains and award it to FirstGroup should be put on hold until Parliament returns next week.

There were concerns over how the move would affect fares and levels of service, she added.

Her plea comes after Louise Ellman, the chairman of the House of Commons Transport Committee, wrote to Transport Secretary Justine Greening asking her to hold off signing the final contract, saying that “important issues” had been raised.

More than 100,000 members of the public have also signed an online petition against the decision, in a campaign supported by double Olympic champion Mo Farah, Apprentice star Lord Sugar and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has offered to run the line for 
free to allow Parliament time to debate the issue because he believes his company has a strong case.

The entrepreneur, who has claimed that FirstGroup’s bid will lead to “almost certain bankruptcy”, made a last-ditch appeal to the Government on Sunday to delay signing the 13-year contract today.

He said Virgin Trains and Stagecoach would operate the joint venture on a not-for-profit basis or donate profits to charity if the franchise needed to be extended beyond December for a few months to allow Parliament to investigate the decision.

Sir Richard is also pressing for an independent audit of the Department for Transport’s decision over the £10bn deal. He believes the bid is too generous to be viable.

Sir Richard said: “It is far better for MPs to have the chance to debate the issues, and question Ministers on the detail before the decision is finalised.

“To assist in this process, there should be an independent audit of the DfT decision to ensure it has been based on correct criteria and reliable forecasting of customer numbers, revenue and payments to Government.

“We must ensure that this crucial decision is taken with all the facts correctly assessed and understood.”

Virgin has operated the West Coast line since 1997 and has more than doubled annual passenger numbers over 15 years.

FirstGroup claims it will deliver better value for taxpayers.

It plans major improvements 
to the InterCity West Coast franchise to enhance the customer experience, including improved wifi and catering, as well as 
additional services and more 
seats and reducing standard anytime fares by 15 per cent on average.

Sir Richard told BBC Breakfast he believes FirstGroup will not have enough money to run the line. He said: “We just want the facts examined. We believe the facts will prove us to be right and we believe that Virgin will end up continuing to run the line. But the facts need to be examined.

“We have sent the Department for Transport a list of 30 questions and this is meant to be an 
open society and we haven’t 
had one of those questions answered.

“I think in fairness, the public should have those questions answered, we should have those questions answered, it should be an open process.”

Sir Richard said he would be happy to walk away from the railway business and focus on his other projects, including space travel, if the decision went against Virgin after the facts had been further scrutinised in the House of Commons.

Comment: Page 10.