Date: 04/10/2012

It sounded too good to be true, and perhaps we have now had confirmation it was. First Group appeared to have won the West Coast Main Line franchise by offering the government much more than any firm had paid before for a service. The deal would have seen the company pay back more than five times as much as Virgin paid for the previous deal. It was an offer then that came in the middle of a recession to a government in need of every penny. The fall-out from today now suggests it was as unrealistic as it was tempting.

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What future for privatised rail?

BBC News

The collapse of the West Coast rail franchise raises questions about the future of privatised railways and government policy.

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