This from the Transport Select Committee...
ORAL EVIDENCE – WEST COAST MAIN LINE FRANCHISE
The Transport Select Committee will call the Secretary of State for
Transport, Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, and the Permanent Secretary at
the Department for Transport, Philip Rutnam, to give oral evidence on
the cancellation of the competition to run the West Coast Main Line
franchise.
Wednesday 31 October at 2.45 pm
Location: Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Announcing the session Tranport Committee Chair Louise Ellman MP said:
“It is astonishing that the Government has had to cancel the West
Coast Main Line franchise competition and delay other competitions. Just
last month the Secretary of State told us that he was content with how
the Department for Transport had handled the West Coast Main Line
competition and that Virgin’s challenge to the outcome would be defended
robustly.
“I expect the Department’s review of what went wrong to be available
by the end of this month and we will want to examine that very
carefully. We will also want to know how much this episode has cost the
taxpayer, what lessons will be learnt, and what will be the wider
implications for franchising. In addition, I expect the Committee to
look closely at the Government’s review of franchising when it is
published at the end of this year."
ENDS
You can view the session live here.
