THE TWO controversial West Coast bids which could be scrutinised in the High Court this autumn are published side by side in Railnews today. The new print edition for September gives its readers a unique chance to see what the competing bidders would achieve, after outgoing rail minister Theresa Villiers told MPs that she could not provide them with any details of the proposals from FirstGroup and Virgin Trains. She also told them that the competition is still 'live', even though FirstGroup had been announced as the winner on 15 August.
Before she left her post at the Department for Transport yesterday to become Northern Ireland secretary, Ms Villiers had also admitted that it was not possible for the DfT to complete the Intercity West Coast contract with FirstGroup at the moment, because of the legal challenge which is being mounted by Virgin.
The growing crisis now poses question marks about who will be running West Coast from 9 December, although FirstGroup has said it is continuing to prepare for the takeover.
Railnews managing editor Sim Harris commented: "The word 'farce' is now being heard in some quarters, and indeed the present situation does seem ridiculous. No matter who comes out on top in the end, this affair has highlighted the unsatisfactory way that our railways are run. They have never been controlled directly by a government department, not even in wartime, until the Strategic Rail Authority was abolished a few years ago.
"The West Coast debacle shows that even if the SRA was not perfect, trying to control a successful and growing industry from Whitehall does not work in the best interest of passengers, freight customers or taxpayers. It is time to take the red ministerial boxes out of the equation."