West Coast Main Line deal with FirstGroup scrapped [BBC News]
Date: 03/10/2012
The decision to award the West Coast Main Line rail franchise to FirstGroup has been scrapped and the government says the bidding process must be rerun. Ministers say there were 'significant technical flaws' in the way the risks for each bid were calculated. They have also ordered two independent reviews into what happened.
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Three civil servants are suspended after flaws in the bidding process for the UK's West Coast rail franchise will see it re-run at a cost of at least £40m.
Taxpayers' £40m bill as Government must refund franchise bidders - and may have to ask Richard Branson's Virgin to continue running the route. FirstGroup's stock value fell more than £240million.
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