[Update] FirstGroup WCML franchise Award revoked

[Tezcatlipoca]

I used Virgin Trains last year for a trip to Blackpool. It was the best train journey I'd ever had, far superior to journeys via trains from other companies such as First...

[Julian]

And all for the idiots in government to coin a few more quid.

Completely the wrong decision. As previously stated first are a set of numpties.

My family and I have used Virgin quite frequently and been very pleased with their service.

Hopefully first will fall flat on their faces. Then Virgin can come back.

[Arthurgray50@blu]

www.themirror.co.uk Todays edition, It may be a Labour paper, but it has clearly stated on the front page.

If you read that then you will clearly see what Bob Crow is talking about, The new company can invest, but in what everything is already in the pipeline, Bob Crow is defending his members, all new companies come in and streamline and get rid of any dead wood.

The catering on the trains is to be cut, l can remember last time l went to Glasgo, there was no buffet car due to a shortage of staff, and this precisely what will happen now, cut back in staff etc.

What we need is a train service that you can rely on, stations that are well protected when the trains are running.

I think from what l have heard is that the new company will come in and just carry as usual but will make severe cutbacks to make more money and still increase prices.

Originally Posted by Hugh

Nodding is encouraging them to continue, not agreeing - standard interview technique.

Nice attempted slur on her impartiality with the "shareholder" comment.

The interviewer on Sky was a lot rougher and tried very hard to find out what the overbid sum was..no nodding from him at all.the interviewee of course refused to be drawn on the matter.

[cookie_365]

To be fair to WorstGroup - their trains from Paddy to Bristol and Cardiff are fine.

But that's all the fairness up for grabs. Every single other franchise they run that I've had the misfortune to have to use is dreadful.

[Vieil Homme]

Have the government not heard about all your eggs in one basket? How they can accept an offer from a company that are in debt by 1.5billion. I hope the Government sacks the people who accepted the offer when it fails leaving us the tax payers to pickup the debts.

Originally Posted by Julian

And all for the idiots in government to coin a few more quid.

Completely the wrong decision. As previously stated first are a set of numpties.

My family and I have used Virgin quite frequently and been very pleased with their service.

Hopefully first will fall flat on their faces. Then Virgin can come back.

I doubt very much Virgin will be back Richard Branson was on the news last night, saying he doubted he would bid for a franchise again such was his anger at the bidding process.

It seems a shame when you have a company committed to excellence the government throws the baby out with the bathwater,National Express could not deliver a while back and the government got lumbered,and the first group have to have a year on year 10% increase in passenger numbers to make it pay.

Serves the government right if it all goes pear shape and gets thrown back in their face.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by richard1960

Serves the government right if it all goes pear shape and gets thrown back in their face.

Except, there is a possibility it'll be a different government that'll have to deal with the mess.

Based on Labour's current non-commitment to changing how the system works, I'm not holding out much hope, but as per usual those currently involved may not care very much.

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Except, there is a possibility it'll be a different government that'll have to deal with the mess.

Based on Labour's current non-commitment to changing how the system works, I'm not holding out much hope, but as per usual those currently involved may not care very much.

Sadly Ben i make you 100% corrrect.

Successive governments have done nothing to sort out public transport because they do not use it..and when they do they go first class.

Originally Posted by mertle

Bob Crow threatens first already.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19265985

Actually see where he coming from.

I did not like the 2 clowns in studio I thought beeb was impartial but his valid concerns going by first track record was belittled. It was almost if they was spokesperson for first let first defend themselves not 2 beeb presenters.

Look way she nods in agreement when the bloke reads first plans is she shareholder first by any chance.

I dont know who the cow and the bloke was but surely he had valid concerns.

I know bob crow bit nutter but in this case he has valid reasons about future where the train service going in the area.

I hate the DfT right now. They have put me in a position of agreeing with Bob Crow.

Virgin Trains IMO deserves a lot of credit for what it has achieved on the WCML since privatisation. Branson took a huge gamble, taking it on when the rolling stock and infrastructure was all in such an awful state. As a regular if infrequent user over the past 15 years I can say that the service is as good now as it was awful back then. Virgin took all the flak as it frequently failed to deliver a service that arrived at anything like the advertised time, stuck with it, invested a pile in the tilting trains BR failed to bring to the WCML 20 years earlier and, in conjunction with improvements by Network Rail, now operates a clean, efficient and very fast service that gets you there, on time, the vast majority of the time (which is a mighty achievement on the West Coast, which is not 'a' line, so much as a complex, tangled network of lines criss-crossing and branching off each other).

Virgin Trains is a proven operator on the WCML and the DfT has taken one hell of a risk in handing the franchise to a company that has done demonstrably less well in arguably far less challenging circumstances. I am not optimistic.

[th'engineer]

if anyone travels on virgin trains

you will appreciate the service

please sign to get gov to reconsider

https://submissions.epetitions.direc...etitions/37180

[dave6x]

Originally Posted by th'engineer

if anyone travels on virgin trains

you will appreciate the service

please sign to get gov to reconsider

https://submissions.epetitions.direc...etitions/37180

The petition's only been going for a week and at the time of writing this it already has over 92,000 signatures, should make over 100,000 tomorrow! Be interesting to see what happens next!

If it gets to 100,000 then a Parliamentary committee has to discuss whether to schedule a full debate in the Commons.

---------- Post added at 08:04 ---------- Previous post was at 08:00 ----------

Signed.

A letter has been written by someone on some select committee to the minister for transport asking her to delay the signing of the contract which is currently set for the 28th of August. This petition needs to reach 100,000 before then.