Date: 15/08/2012

Sir Richard Branson has attacked the 'insanity' of the Government after Virgin Trains lost control of the prestigious West Coast rail line that it has run for 15 years. The Department for Transport (DfT) handed the contract to FirstGroup after Virgin's rival is thought to have made what industry insiders describe as a 'suicide' offer of £6.5bn to £7bn to run the line. Virgin, its closest competitor for the franchise, bid £5.5bn to £6bn. In his blog, Sir Richard voiced fears that the amount FirstGroup paid will make the contract unprofitable, forcing the Government to take back ownership of the line. This is what happened with the East Coast Main line, when first GNER (in 2007) and then National Express (in 2009) were stripped of the contract after they could not afford to pay the Government £1.3bn for the right to run the service.

External links

Richard Branson attacks Government 'insanity' after Virgin Trains loses West Coast rail contract

Telegraph

Sir Richard Branson has attacked the "insanity" of the Government after Virgin Trains lost control of the prestigious West Coast rail line that it has run for 15 years.

Virgin Trains loses west coast mainline franchise to FirstGroup

Guardian

FirstGroup takes on routes from London to Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool, promising more seats and extra trains

Related images

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Location: Glasgow Central
Company: Glasgow Central Station (Caledonian Railway)
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The 12.37 special Glasgow Central - London Euston Virgin Pendolino during its record breaking non-stop run of 3 hours 55 minutes on 22 September 2006. The special is seen here approaching Lamington Viaduct.
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Until the December 2012 timetable change several WCML trains from Euston terminated at Lancaster and then ran ECS to Carnforth before returning to London. Pendolino 390015 Virgin Crusader arrived at Lancaster at 1500 and is seen here rejoining the main line, after a brief layover in a Carnforth loop, running ECS to form the 1539 Lancaster to Euston. With the introductionof the hourly Euston - Glasgow services these Carnforth manoeuvres have now stopped.
Location: Carnforth
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Tags: x Virgin Trains