East Coast line was doomed to fail, say MPs

THE troubled East Coast rail franchise was doomed to fail from the start, MPs have said.

An over-optimistic bid by Stagecoach and Virgin Trains and the decision by government officials to accept it, are blamed for triggering the demise of the franchise for the third time in just 12 years.

The report, published by the Commons transport committee today, suggests the ‘financial picture was bleak from day one of the franchise’ as it immediately failed to hit unrealistic ticket sales targets set by the two companies.

It says the Department for Transport also failed to carry out adequate ‘stress tests’ to make sure the bid was achievable. But it concludes that ‘Stagecoach and Virgin bear prime responsibility for the failure of this franchise’.

Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson is singled out for personal criticism. According to the report, the billionaire’s attempt to blame Network Rail for delays in completing engineering works was a ‘cynical attempt to divert attention from Virgin and Stagecoach’s failures’. Network Rail, it says, did not ‘bear any responsibility for the early termination of this franchise’.

Instead the central cause was a ‘flawed’ bidding process and the decision by department officials to accept the highest bid, whether it was achievable or not.

Virgin Trains declined to comment.