Statement due on 'shambolic' West Coast Mainline deal
Scotland's Transport Minister will outline his concerns at Holyrood
West Coast Mainline franchise "an utter shambles"
Russell Brown MP, has described the admission of flaws in the West Coast Mainline bidding process as "an utter shambles".
Competition to run West Coast Main Line cancelled
The competition to operate the West Coast Main Line has been cancelled after flaws were discovered in the bidding process.
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Man dies in Borders crash
An 18-year-old man has died after he came off his 125 cc scooter in the Scottish Borders.
It happened at about 11:35 am on Saturday on a road between Ayton to Reston.
The man died at the scene.
Floods cause travel disruption in Grasmere
The A591 is closed in both directions between the Pye Lane junction in Grasmere and the B5322 Back Lane junction in Legburthwaite, due to flooding and collapsed wall.
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Cumbria flood alerts still in place, and minor delays on A595
The Environment Agency has flood alerts in place for the Rivers Ehen, Calder, Irt and Esk, and also for the Upper Derwent from Seathwaite to Derwent Water. This means more flooding is possible but not imminent.
The overnight floods in the Egremont area are causing a minor delay of 10 minutes on the A595 southbound down the Cumbrian coast.
They have already caused serious problems overnight: a train derailed at 7:20am near Nethertown because of a landslide, and high floodwaters in Beckermet have left a bridge unstable in the middle of the village; Morass Road is still closed.
Road: A595, Calder Bridge, Cumbria
A595 in both directions blocked due to flooding around Hardgates Road.
Road: Grasmere, Cumbria
A591 closed in both directions due to flooding and fallen wall between Pye Lane (Grasmere) and B5322 Back Lane (Legburthwaite)
A7 closed: Flooding
The A7 is closed in the Scottish Borders because of flooding.
Police are warning of heavy traffic in the area.The flooding is between between B6362 Townfoot / Station Road at Stow and Buckholm Mill Brae at Galashiels. Police are directing traffic.
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New West Coast Main Line franchise to be signed today
The new contract for the West Coast main line franchise could be signed today. The Government has awarded the contract to FirstGroup after it bid more than £1 billion more than Virgin Trains.
However, the outgoing company is trying to bring about a last minute change of heart, with its boss, Sir Richard Branson, offering to run the service for free while it is scrutinised by Parliament.
Opposition MPs are calling for a debate at Westminster, which returns from its recess next week.
Despite the calls, a spokesman for the Department for Transport indicated that the agreement was set to be signed today saying, "The winning bidder was decided by a fair and established process and no reason has been advanced to convince DfT not to sign the agreement."
Road: A75, Collin, Dumfries
Eastbound partially blocked due to broken down lorry between B724 and Main Road. Police directing traffic.
Calls to delay West Coast contract signing
Unions, politicians and many rail passengers are calling on the Government to delay the signing of a new franchise for the West Coast main line. Virgin Trains is due to lose the service after FirstGroup made a bid that was more than a billion pounds higher.
Thousands of people have signed a petition opposing the move, but FirstGroup insists its service will provide the best deal for taxpayers and passengers.
RMT Union: There is concern at the decision
RMT leaders have said that First Group have based their bid on the same kind of over-geared financial projections that lead to the collapse of the GNER and National Express contracts on the East Coast – forcing the Government to renationalise the service.
Speaking to ITV Border, RMT Leader, Craig Johnston said he believes the contract will be signed in the coming days without a delay. He said members of the RMT union have expressed concern at the decision.
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