Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
The Government has said it will be run by the state until a new process is completed but the same trains and staff will be used? How is that possible? Why not take Virgin up on the offer to run it in the interim as a non-profit (I guess that gives them a unfair advantage when it comes to bidding).
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I suspect the procedure for running an unfranchised line is set down in the original legislation that privatised the railways. If not there, then there must be an established legal basis elsewhere because the East Coast has been run by the State since 2010.
The staff who operate the service for Virgin would have transferred to First via TUPE anyway so there is no problem with them transferring to employment by the State in the meantime. The trains are leased, not owned, and the timetable is already planned months in advance so it would actually be more difficult to try to change it than to simply carry on.
Pretty much the whole of VT's staff will continue as normal while this mess is sorted out. The only visible change will be that the operation will have to be de-branded. Branson's offer to run it without profit was a canny one as he was never going to be allowed to run it for a profit under these circumstances - all he was really after was keeping the Virgin brand stuck to the outside of the trains for a bit longer. It seems he may not get that wish.
---------- Post added at 09:08 ---------- Previous post was at 08:55 ----------
I have altered the thread title as it is becoming clear that whatever happens on 9 December, Dickie B. won't be running it ...