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 Sec 'taking swift action' over West Coast Main Line
The government's transport secretary has said that his department is taking "swift action" regarding the controversy surrounding the West Coast rail franchise.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said:
"The NAO has made a number of recommendations that mirror many of the findings of the Laidlaw Inquiry in terms of the work we need to do to strengthen our organisation and the structures within it.
"We are already taking swift action on this front and I believe the plans we are putting in place to ensure future franchise competitions are conducted on the basis of sound planning, the rigorous identification and oversight of risk, will prevent a repeat of these lamentable failures."
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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.