Snubbed train companies ‘acting like lottery losers’
Four train companies trying to sue the Government for halting the process to bid for the right to run the West’s railways have been accused of acting like “lottery losers demanding the price of their ticket back”.
Union leaders are furious that transport firms Stagecoach, Arriva, National Express and the current franchise holders First are taking the Government to court and are demanding as much as £40 million in costs.
Earlier this year, the Government called a halt to the process where train companies bid for the franchise to run services out of Paddington to the West Country and South Wales, following the debacle surrounding the aborted process for the West Coast mainline, which runs from London to the North West.
Ministers said they wanted to re-evaluate the process for the Great Western line – which serves London to Swindon, Bath, Bristol, south Wiltshire and Somerset – as a result.
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The four companies that had submitted bids for the Great Western franchise claim they have spent around £10 million submitting their cases, which involved hiring experts, lawyers and compiling their submissions.
Their case will be heard at the end of the month, giving a couple of weeks for the Government and the train companies to thrash out a deal.
The decision by the firms to sue has not impressed rail union leader Bob Crow, who said: “These rail companies are acting like a lottery loser demanding the price of their ticket back. They are quite happy with the casino franchising process until they draw a losing hand.
“This latest nonsense will end up costing the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds and yet again exposes the insanity of rail privatisation. Only full renationalisation of our railways can end this circus.”
The rail companies appear to be facing an uphill battle in getting their costs back – the original invitations to tender included the line: “Each bidder shall be responsible for all costs, expenses and liabilities incurred by it in connection with the Great Western franchise letting process, whether or not its bid and/or associated negotiations are ultimately successful or the process is subsequently varied in any way or terminated.”
The Great Western main line is about to undergo the biggest renovation in 100 years, with electrification starting at London and arriving in Bristol by the end of the decade. But the line is also the most overcrowded in Britain and has suffered a series of crippling delays caused by signalling problems, as well as problems caused by severe weather and flooding in Devon and north of Bristol.
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by a1rhella1r
Sunday, March 17 2013, 1:21PM
“Sorry you are having problems with rail companies. Some trains are not so bad -
http://tinyurl.com/cmb3gng
Btw, the national railway is state-run. Sometimes they 'sell' a whole train for advertising - in this case to a bank....”
by a1rhella1r
Sunday, March 17 2013, 1:20PM
“Sorry you are having problems with rail companies. Some trains are not so bad -
http://tinyurl.com/cmb3gng
Btw, the national railway is state-run. Sometimes they 'sell' a whole train for advertising - in this case to a bank....”
by jezer
Monday, March 11 2013, 7:42PM
“You are right. I haven't travelled by train for many years, probably the last time was when I was at school. In those days we were issued with a season ticket. Rail transport was seen as a public service in those days, not something to be exploited for profit. Since Beaching (oh err that dates me), only money making lines were kept open. As a result individual motor transport flourished at the expense of the environment. Thankfully we seem to be regaining some sanity with calls to reopen some lines. Perhaps too late?”
by MoeXXX
Monday, March 11 2013, 7:31PM
“Exactly. Hence we can't compete.”
by jezer
Monday, March 11 2013, 6:05PM
“British Rail can't bid for contracts in Germany or anywhere else because it doesn't exist.”
by MoeXXX
Sunday, March 10 2013, 9:58PM
“No idea whether the service has got better or worse since BR days (I wouldn't dream of using a train in the UK these days) but the cost to the taxpayer has increased fivefold. In my book, when you privatise something, it shouldn't cost the taxpayer anything at all.
In any case, when one of the main bidders is the highly-successful German state-owned operator Deutsch Bahn, we shouldn't be debating levels of service at all - we should be asking why British Rail isn't bidding for contracts in Germany.”
by rogerh3
Sunday, March 10 2013, 6:44PM
“It certainly wasn't awful. Of course it had its faults but none as serious at now. British Rail was the most efficient railway in Europe with the highest proportion of high speed routes, also with its own highly-regarded research and manufacturing (now what little remains is all in foreign ownership).
Unfortunately BR was starved of investment by successive governments, particularly in the run up to privatisation. Today's 'private' railways receive about four times the level of taxpayer subsidy while even the government's own McNulty report found the industry was 30% less efficient than those on the continent.
A couple of weeks ago the BBC documentary on the railways had a scene where there was damage to the signalling outside Reading, causing all trains to be stopped. Work was delayed for two hours so someone (who never turned up) could come and determine which company would be responsible for any compensation. Once authorised the repair took about 15 minutes.
.”
by jezer
Sunday, March 10 2013, 6:09PM
“Well, this is an example of privatisation in the modern world (which I support in principle). However, throwing your toys out of the pram will not help your case. Just remember that before the railways were nationalised the service was awful. Perhaps it is better now, but just take account of your customers.”
by rogerh3
Sunday, March 10 2013, 10:34AM
“It just further demonstrates the insanity and waste of the system yet despite polls showing up to 95% support for renationalisation no party will support it.”
by Chappers
Saturday, March 09 2013, 11:26PM
“Good job privatisation is reducing waste and giving us efficiencies!”