East Coast rail collapses after ‘shameful’ deal
Virgin axed.. but wins a contract
THE collapse of one of Britain’s biggest rail firms heaped more humiliation on Transport Secretary Chris Grayling last night.
The East Coast Main Line franchise could be taken back into public ownership after breaching its £3.3billion contract, he admitted.
The London-to-Edinburgh service was a partnership between Virgin and Stagecoach, co-founded by Scottish billionaire Brian Souter.
Fury erupted when Mr Grayling then awarded Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin an extended contract to run profitable services on the West Coast between London and Glasgow for another year. The move was branded as “outrageous” and there were calls for Mr Grayling to quit over the “shameful fiasco”.
Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald said: “This is yet another Tory handout to private shareholders at the public’s expense.” Mr Grayling told Parliament the East Coast franchise “will only be able to continue in its current form for a very small number of months and no more”. The deal was already due to finish three years early in 2020 because it is running out of money. But now a new firm will be sought to take over, or it could end up back in the hands of the Government. Mr Grayling added: “The business will continue to operate with no impact on services or staff.” Mick Cash, of the RMT rail union, said: “This shameful fiasco on one of Britain’s main rail routes needs to end.”
He said the East Coast line had been granted to “speculators and spivs” and should be renationalised.
Mick Whelan, of the train drivers’ union ASLEF, said: “It is outrageous that Virgin Trains has been handed a lucrative new contract.”
He said there was “no competition” and the franchise had been handed to the Government’s “chums”.
IT is no way to run a railway when incompetent Tory Controller Chris Grayling rewards Virgin and Stagecoach’s failure on the East Coast mainline by gifting the companies a contract extension on lucrative West Coast routes.
Conservative privatisation is a costly disaster for passengers and taxpayers alike, so the sooner the train network is back in public ownership, the sooner our country will be back on track.