14 
The government’s bizarre decision to take the West Coast Main Line train franchise away from Virgin Trains, which infuriated boss Richard Branson no end, has fallen apart in spectacular fashion, with the whole transfer now cancelled amid claims of mass incompetence.
The idea was to end Virgin Trains’ undeniably successful running of services up the West Coast of the country in December, handing over the line and its vehicles to rival travel infrastructure company FirstGroup, which offered the government more money than Virgin was prepared to pay.
Virgin boss Branson said at the time that the sums wouldn’t add up, and that’s been proven today, with the government deciding that its people made such an amazing mess of handling the bidding process and the numbers involved that the transfer to FirstGroup is to be cancelled. Three civil servants involved in the decision have been suspended, with transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin saying the problem “lies wholly and squarely with the Department of Transport.”
In its own statement on the matter, Virgin says it will “…assist the Department for Transport in ensuring continuity of service for the millions of customers who depend on train services on the West Coast mainline,” and Branson’s latest blog update says he hopes that Virgin Trains can find a way to carry on running the West Coast Main Line services.
There’s also a sizeable hit to taxpayer funds because of the mess, with the government set to refund the £40m the rival rail companies spent on submitting their bids for the franchise in the first place. [BBC]
Toy Train Company Nearly Secures West Coast Mainline Contract
Virgin Trains Wins Two-Year West Coast Main Line Extension
Richard Branson's Porn Squatting Victory
Further proof that the civil service in this country is about as much use as tits on a nun.
You know, the problem is they don’t hire specialists. It’s all generalists trying to work out whether things are cost effective, and that leads to blind belief in what the proposals say. You need a team with specialist knowledge of the industry, and delivering these things, to genuinely know whether bidders are talking crap or not.
I agree, but then you get people saying that they’re just doing their former colleagues favours if a contract is awarded to them – a lazy accusation since there’s no evidence that could be provided to the accuser that would make them think otherwise.
What did the civil service have to do with this? The transport minister promised the west coast line to one of his old school chums, but Branson kicked up enough stink that people looked at the sums and saw they didn’t add up. Rather than get caught with his hand in the till the “Honourable” gentleman has passed the buck onto his department and some minor underling will get chopped for the “mistake”.
Ok, promise this is the last time ill post this. It seems apt to your post though.
http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/25509252.jpg
Please do not let this be the last time we see this.
That dear sir was absolutely epic.
DJ that’s exactly the line they want you to believe. Poor civil service – nasty old ministers.
Sam hit it spot on. This process was run by incompentents from the begining. It is 100% the problem of the Civil Service. They are a self monitored, self regulated body. It is not now, nor has it ever been, the mandate of cabinet ministers to oversee the civil service. That is the job of the permanent cabinet secretaries and when ministers have tried to have a say in these matters, as they have lately, they are fully rebuffed and told not to ‘politicise’ the Civil Service.
It is the Civil Services mandate and job to implement public policy handed down by the various cabinet ministers. If they cock up a job like this it lies FIRMLY at their feet and their feet only.
In fact, the only good argument in favour of this antiquated setup is that it is supposed to PREVENT exactly the scenario you described above.
The government should have a much more significant roll in the oversight of the civil service and this scenario is proof positive that is the case.
Thank Sir Richard (;-)) for living up to his duty as a knight protector and shining a light on this glaring miscarriage of government (The last sentence was for comical effect only. Obvs..)
Which transport secretary are we talking about then Darrell? It was Philip Hammond when the tender was opened, Justine Greening when FirstGroup won the tender and Patrick McLoughlin at the moment. Also, since none of them went to public school, I’m not sure where the “old school chum” line has come from either.
As for Branson being the saviour of the trains, everyone seems to have a very short memory as for the first few years that they operated the line the general consensus was that they were doing an appalling job and should have the contract removed..
Well that’s me told.
Also, talk to anyone who’s had to work with the MoD or MoH to find out that piss-poor procurement processes are something that affects all of Whitehall.
Those 3 civil servants made a decision that ended up costing the tax payers £40m, and they only get suspended? Something doesn’t seem right about that.
http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/25509252.jpg
http://qkme.me/3r6hsi
When you say ‘undeniably successful’ can I assume that you’ve never travelled on one of Branson’s cramped overcrowded trains?
Anything is better than Cross Country trains..
I find the best seat on their trains is in the cycle rack.
Although they did refund me £90 the other day which reduces my hatred for them slightly..
I prefer to sleep in the overhead luggage racks
And I take it you’ve never travelled on one of First Groups trains.
Two years of commuting to London using First Capital Connect and the train arrived in London on time a grand total of 3 times. Add in the overcrowding, out of order toilets and rolling stock that is straight out of the 70s.
Never had a single problem using Virgin when travelling between London and Manchester. Since taking on that route, the travel time has almost been cut in half and prices have hardly increased.
I know who I’d choose between the two.
I couldn’t agree more with this. I had a very similar conversation with my Flatmate when it was first announced Virgin had lost the bidding process. I’ve had countless awful experiences with First trains over the years and a near perfect history with Virgin.
Try trundling along the M4 corridor in one of the awful, messy, smelly trains that First run between Paddington and The West. You’ll cry for Virgin’s trains before your first trip is done.
Student in Lancaster, I use virgin trains regularly down to Crewe. They’ve always been very good. Yes they’re not perfect, but they are by far the best of a bad bunch. I thought it was crazy that the government ever considered changing contracts – what ever happened to “if it aint broke, don’t fix it”?!
If it ain’t broke, give it to someone who can undercut the price!
Woo, big up Lancaster! Where are you at? Lancs Uni or Uni of Cumbria?
Isnt the University of Cumbria…. In Cumbria? not Lancashire
University of Lancaster. The university of cumbria is a strange place, they have a campus in Lancaster as well as a campus in Penrith, cumbria.
Surely the deal was done at a First Group funded “client meeting”. We all know they get out of hand sometimes, especially if they start at 10PM.