Date: 03/09/2012

Legal action by Virgin Rail has prevented the Government signing a contract awarding a major franchise to a rival bidder, MPs have been told. Rail Minister Theresa Villiers said the Government would 'robustly' defend the case following the decision to award the West Coast Mainline contract to FirstGroup. 'As a result of a legal challenge, which the Government intends to defend robustly, we have not yet signed the contract with First West Coast, and consequently the competition remains live,' she told MPs in a written statement.

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