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During August 2012 Patrick McLoughlin had been warned of potential issues. During the afternoon of 2 October 2012, McLoughlin took the decision to cancel the franchise award: {{cquote|I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …|Patrick McLoughlin|author=Patrick McLoughlin|source=''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'', [[BBC Radio 4]], 3 October 2012<ref>{{cite interview|first=Patrick|subjectlink=Patrick McLoughlin|last=McLoughlin|title=[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]|program=[[BBC Radio 4]]|date=3 October 2012 07:55:51–07:56:12 BST|accessdate=4 October 2012|interviewer=[[Sarah Montague]]|quote=[Patrick McLoughlin] I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …}}<br/>{{cite news|url=http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/today/today_20121003-1158a.mp3|format=Podcast|work=BBC Online|format=originally broadcast on ''The Today Programme'', offset 5:14–5:35|date=3 October 2012|accessdate=4 October 2012|quote=[Patrick McLoughlin] I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …}}</ref>}} |
During August 2012 Patrick McLoughlin had been warned of potential issues. During the afternoon of 2 October 2012, McLoughlin took the decision to cancel the franchise award: {{cquote|I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …|Patrick McLoughlin|author=Patrick McLoughlin|source=''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'', [[BBC Radio 4]], 3 October 2012<ref>{{cite interview|first=Patrick|subjectlink=Patrick McLoughlin|last=McLoughlin|title=[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]|program=[[BBC Radio 4]]|date=3 October 2012 07:55:51–07:56:12 BST|accessdate=4 October 2012|interviewer=[[Sarah Montague]]|quote=[Patrick McLoughlin] I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …}}<br/>{{cite news|url=http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/today/today_20121003-1158a.mp3|format=Podcast|work=BBC Online|format=originally broadcast on ''The Today Programme'', offset 5:14–5:35|date=3 October 2012|accessdate=4 October 2012|quote=[Patrick McLoughlin] I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …}}</ref>}} |
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At around 19:30 BST on 2 October 2012 Richard Branson was warned to expect a call later that evening from Patrick McLoughlin.<ref name="osbourne"/> At 22:00 Patrick McLoughlin called [[Tim O'Toole]] of FirstGroup.<ref name="bbc-tim-otoole-debrief">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19817798|title=West Coast Main Line franchise process a 'fiasco' says Branson|work=BBC News Online|date=3 October 2012|accessdate=4 October 2012|quote=[Tim O'Toole] I received a call [at] 10 o'clock last night informing me of the decision|format=in-page video interview}}</ref> At 23:30 Patrick McLoughlin spoke with [[Richard Branson]], who was in New York City at the time.<ref name="osbourne">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9585245/West-Coast-Main-Line-total-chaos-as-government-scraps-franchise-deal.html|title=West Coast Main Line: total chaos as government scraps franchise deal|first=Alistair|last=Osborne|date=3 October 2012|accessdate=4 October 2012|work=The Telegraphy|location=London|quote=Sir Richard Branson was looking out across the Hudson river from in his room on the 17th floor of New York's Standard hotel. … The Virgin founder had been put on alert, four hours earlier, to expect a call at 11.30pm London time. It would be from Patrick McLoughlin, Britain's new Transport Secretary … three officials have been suspended. The DfT won't say who, but there is industry gossip the trio are John Gilbert, Kate Mingay and Paul Rogers – all responsible for procurement.}}</ref> Thirty minutes later the cancellation press release was made by the Department of Transport at 00:01 BST on 3 October 2012. Originally on 3 October 2012, the Department of Transport had been due to submit their defence evidence to the High Court in response of a Judicial Review sought by Virgin Trains. |
At around 19:30 BST on 2 October 2012 Richard Branson was warned to expect a call later that evening from Patrick McLoughlin.<ref name="osbourne"/> At 22:00 Patrick McLoughlin called [[Tim O'Toole (businessman)|Tim O'Toole]] of FirstGroup.<ref name="bbc-tim-otoole-debrief">{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19817798|title=West Coast Main Line franchise process a 'fiasco' says Branson|work=BBC News Online|date=3 October 2012|accessdate=4 October 2012|quote=[Tim O'Toole] I received a call [at] 10 o'clock last night informing me of the decision|format=in-page video interview}}</ref> At 23:30 Patrick McLoughlin spoke with [[Richard Branson]], who was in New York City at the time.<ref name="osbourne">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/9585245/West-Coast-Main-Line-total-chaos-as-government-scraps-franchise-deal.html|title=West Coast Main Line: total chaos as government scraps franchise deal|first=Alistair|last=Osborne|date=3 October 2012|accessdate=4 October 2012|work=The Telegraphy|location=London|quote=Sir Richard Branson was looking out across the Hudson river from in his room on the 17th floor of New York's Standard hotel. … The Virgin founder had been put on alert, four hours earlier, to expect a call at 11.30pm London time. It would be from Patrick McLoughlin, Britain's new Transport Secretary … three officials have been suspended. The DfT won't say who, but there is industry gossip the trio are John Gilbert, Kate Mingay and Paul Rogers – all responsible for procurement.}}</ref> Thirty minutes later the cancellation press release was made by the Department of Transport at 00:01 BST on 3 October 2012. Originally on 3 October 2012, the Department of Transport had been due to submit their defence evidence to the High Court in response of a Judicial Review sought by Virgin Trains. |
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==References== |
==References== |
Revision as of 14:36, 4 October 2012
Current operator | Virgin Trains |
---|---|
Main Route(s) | West Coast Main Line |
Stations called at | 44 |
Stations operated | 17 |
Dates of operation | 9 March 1997 – 8 December 2012 |
Other | |
Website | www.dft.gov.uk/publications/rail-passenger-franchise-intercity-west-coast/ |
InterCity West Coast is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston, the West Midlands, North Wales, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool, Preston and Glasgow in the United Kingdom. It was formed on 9 March 1997, following the privatisation of British Rail. The current and only train operating company to date is Virgin Trains. The franchise was due to be renewed on 9 December 2012 and FirstGroup was announced as the winning bidder, a decision that was later reversed due to irregularities in the franchise renewal process.
1997 franchise
The initial franchise was awarded to Virgin Trains after beating Sea Containers and Stagecoach.[1] The franchise was due to end on 31 March 2012 but on 27 October 2011, the Department for Transport announced that Virgin had been granted a franchise extension until 8 December 2012.[2]
Cancelled 2012 renewal
On 24 March 2011 the Department for Transport announced that Abellio, FirstGroup, Keolis/SNCF and Virgin Trains had been shortlisted for the franchise, which would run for up to 15 years.[3] On 27 October 2011 the Department for Transport issued the Invitation to tender to the shortlisted bidders.[4] The franchise was the first to be offered under a new scheme, rather than the previous "Cap and Collar system" which provided for risk-sharing with government regarding future demand. The new franchising scheme is intended provide greater incentives for cost reduction by operators.[5][6][7]
On 15 August 2012 the Department for Transport announced FirstGroup as the successful bidder for the franchise,[8] promising 11 new six-carriage electric trains, direct services to Blackpool in 2013, and to Telford, Shrewsbury and Bolton in 2016.
After the announcement an e-petition was created to urge the government to reconsider its decision and to debate the bids in the House of Commons. The petition was set up independently, but backed by Virgin, and has attracted large support; gaining 50,000 signatures within two days. The 100,000 signatures required for the petition to be considered for debate in parliament was surpassed. The petition was also backed by many celebrities including Lord Alan Sugar, Jamie Oliver, Mo Farah, Amanda Holden and Derren Brown as well as receiving backing from Tom Harris MP, the Shadow Environment Minister and former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport.[9]. The matter was debated in the House of Commons on 17 September 2012.[10][11]
Following the public's response to Virgin's loss of the franchise, Louise Ellman, Chair of the Transport Select Committee, wrote to Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Transport, asking her to delay the signing of the new contract until the committee have had a chance to 'explore the matter'.[12] Virgin had offered to run the line on a 'not for profit' basis while this takes place. [13] Despite both public and political pressure for an independent review of the deal, the Department for Transport declared it would not delay the signing of the contract once the ten-day standstill period had expired.
On 28 August 2012 Virgin Trains announced would seek a judicial review of the franchise decision, preventing the contract being signed, claiming civil servants had "got their maths wrong with FirstGroup". The Department for Transport responded stating that they were confident the selection process was robust.[14][15] In September 2012 the Department for Transport began making arrangements for the franchise to pass temporarily to West Coast Main Line Limited, a subsidiary of Directly Operated Railways, should a judicial review be granted.[16][17]
On 3 October 2012 the government announced it was cancelling the franchise competition after discovering significant technical flaws in the bidding process, reversing the previous decision to award it to FirstGroup. The entire bidding process is to be re-run after the government admitted getting its figures seriously wrong. It was stated that civil servants had made significant mistakes in the way in which the risks for each bid had been calculated.[7] Two independent inquiries were announced; one headed up by Sam Laidlaw of Centrica, with Ed Smith from the Board of the Department for Transport; and the second inquiry headed up by Richard Brown of Eurostar.[18]
Timeline
During August 2012 Patrick McLoughlin had been warned of potential issues. During the afternoon of 2 October 2012, McLoughlin took the decision to cancel the franchise award:
I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …
At around 19:30 BST on 2 October 2012 Richard Branson was warned to expect a call later that evening from Patrick McLoughlin.[20] At 22:00 Patrick McLoughlin called Tim O'Toole of FirstGroup.[21] At 23:30 Patrick McLoughlin spoke with Richard Branson, who was in New York City at the time.[20] Thirty minutes later the cancellation press release was made by the Department of Transport at 00:01 BST on 3 October 2012. Originally on 3 October 2012, the Department of Transport had been due to submit their defence evidence to the High Court in response of a Judicial Review sought by Virgin Trains.
References
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/virgin-pledges-tilt-trains-for-west-coast-1286084.html
- ^ http://www.dft.gov.uk/news/press-releases/dft-press-20111027b/
- ^ "Shortlisted Bidders for Greater Anglia and Intercity West Coast Rail Franchises" (PDF) (Press release). Department for Transport. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "West Coast passengers in line for 28,000 extra seats as franchise extension signed". Press releases (Press release). Department for Transport. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Robert Wright (March 2011). "Goodbye to the cap-and-collar". Rail Professional. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ Philip Hammond (5 August 2011). "New franchising programme". Department for Transport. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ a b "West Coast Main Line franchise competition cancelled" (Press release). Department for Transport. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
- ^ "New operator for West Coast rail passengers". Department for Transport. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ Preston, Jack (23 August 2012). "Celebrities back Virgin Trains e-petition". Virgin Travel News. Virgin.
- ^ "MPs get three hours to debate ICWC franchise". Railway Eye. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "E-petition relating to the West Coast Mainline franchise decision" (video recording). Westminster Hall Archive. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Transport Select Committee; Ellman, Louise (23 August 2012). "From Mrs Louise Ellman MP, Chair" (letter to Justine Greening). Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "Virgin Trains offers to run West Coast 'for free'". BBC News Online. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "Virgin Trains takes West Coast Main Line court action". BBC. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ Milmo, Dan; Topham, Gwyn; Watt, Nicholas (28 August 2012). "Rail and air transport policy left in chaos". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Millward, David (18 September 2012). "Government team in place to run West Coast Main Line". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ West Coast Main Line Company Limited 04659516 (Report). Companies House. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ Trotman, Andrew (3 October 2012 00:30 UTC). "Government cancels West Coast Mainline contract due to 'flaws' in bidding process". The Telegraphy. London. Retrieved 3 October 2012 00:57 UTC.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ McLoughlin, Patrick (3 October 2012 07:55:51–07:56:12 BST). "Today" (Interview). Interviewed by Sarah Montague.
[Patrick McLoughlin] I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …
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BBC Online. 3 October 2012 http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/today/today_20121003-1158a.mp3. Retrieved 4 October 2012.[Patrick McLoughlin] I arrived in the department just under four weeks ago, I was told at that stage there might be some technical points; it became more serious as time went on—when I saw the full extent of the advice that I got yesterday afternoon, I took the decisions which I've taken and put the whole process on pause so we can learn the lessons and see what went wrong in this particular area …
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ a b Osborne, Alistair (3 October 2012). "West Coast Main Line: total chaos as government scraps franchise deal". The Telegraphy. London. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
Sir Richard Branson was looking out across the Hudson river from in his room on the 17th floor of New York's Standard hotel. … The Virgin founder had been put on alert, four hours earlier, to expect a call at 11.30pm London time. It would be from Patrick McLoughlin, Britain's new Transport Secretary … three officials have been suspended. The DfT won't say who, but there is industry gossip the trio are John Gilbert, Kate Mingay and Paul Rogers – all responsible for procurement.
- ^ "West Coast Main Line franchise process a 'fiasco' says Branson" (in-page video interview). BBC News Online. 3 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
[Tim O'Toole] I received a call [at] 10 o'clock last night informing me of the decision
External links
- InterCity West Coast franchise, 2011, Department for Transport