Taxpayers' £50m West Coast bill
Taxpayers will face a "significant" bill of around £50m over the West Coast rail franchise fiasco, the Government's spending watchdog has warned.
Transport Secretary to appoint railway Director-General
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin today announced the appointment of a Director-General with "responsibility for all rail policy and franchising."
"We will ensure that we have the right mix of professional skills inside the department and, where necessary, from professional external advisers," he added.
Mr McLoughlin made the announcement after confirming that Virgin Trains would continue to run the West Coast mainline until at least 2014.
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How did the Department for Transport go off the rails?
Remember the Virgin Trains mess? Later an official report into what went wrong will be made public.
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Government admits Virgin holding up West Coast contract
The Government has been forced to admit the profitable West Coast Main Line contract has yet to be signed, thanks to a legal bid by Virgin.