In our last blog on the FirstGroup winning bid for the West Coast Main Line, we mentioned there would be parliamentary twists and turns on the deal, but did anyone expect this? Late last night, the government announced that it had cancelled the agreement for FirstGroup to take over the line from December. Mistakes had been made within the Department of Transport. I wouldn’t like to be the person having to deal with the cost of the error. The magnitude of the decision is huge and said to be worth £40 million to the taxpayer!
Patrick McLoughlin, transport secretary, has reassured both FirstGroup and Virgin Trains that ‘the companies had done nothing wrong during the process’, despite there being a legal challenge from Virgin when the decision was announced to hand over the line to FirstGroup back in August. Reviews will be carried out into what went wrong, and Virgin’s legal battle will no longer be considered. This may seem like an advantage for the existing operator, but for now, it seems there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for either franchise.
What do customers and commuters think on social media? Whilst the industry and the public digest the decision, with our social media monitoring tool, we can let you know what’s been said in real-time in the 12 hours since the announcement.
Some people on social media assumed the government’s decision was in favour of Virgin Trains and were happy about it:
“So happy that FirstGroup have been ditched in favour of Virgin for the West Coast Main Line. Best news of the day so far – Virgin rules!” (@ElliotBinks)
“Finally some good news! The West Coast Main Line isn\’t going to be run by those evil bastards at FirstGroup” (@rupazero)
“Amazing. Government cancels decision to award rail franchise to run West Coast Main Line to FirstGroup.” (@rowansingh)
“Did I just read this right \”Government cancels decision to award rail franchise for West Coast Main Line to FirstGroup\” Omg” (@mattgarner)
Richard Branson has also been very vocal on Twitter, posting a series of tweets over the past 12 hours:
“#backontrack! UK Gov no longer awarding West Coast MainLine franchise to FirstGroup http://virg.in/btk”
“”deeply regrettable & completely unacceptable mistakes” made by Department of Transport, says new Minister http://virg.in/btk #backontrack”
“Thanks to incredible staff, passengers & all who signed e-petition calling for House of Commons debate http://virg.in/btk #backontrack”
Up until now, it appears FirstGroup may be seated in the quiet coach, possibly weighing up its next steps since the news broke, as there has been little comment from the train operator, or interestingly, its supporters. But, watch this space.
