No surprises as another DafT procurement fails

Regular Eye readers will not be surprised to see that yet another DafT procurement exercise has gone tits-up.

This from the Beeb...

Plans to privatise the search and rescue helicopter service have been suspended amid concerns about the bidding process to find a supplier.

Of course DafT has a fine reputation for running cost effective procurement exercises.

Who can forget the abandoned process to procure 202 DMU vehicles, the continuing saga of the InterCity Express Programme (costs currently running at £27m and without a single vehicle ordered!) or the long drawn out saga of the new Thameslink fleet?

No doubt Petrol-head will address his own department's failings before demanding ever greater efficiencies from pained suppliers?

UPDATE: This from Chionanthus Virginicus...

Can we hope that a decision not to replace Sea King helicopters with foreign ones (Sikorsky) via the aborted search & rescue privatisation, will be followed by a decision to support UK jobs at the last remaining UK helicopter plant - AgustaWestland at Yeovil (Lib-Dem) ?

And will the same principle to protect UK jobs also apply to IEP?

"Chopper" Hammond to the rescue?

Pointless signs - Didcot Parkway

This from Concerned of Caversham...

Spotted at Didcot Parkway station:


Is this a cunning ruse to ensure that any fire does full justice to delightful Didcot?