Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson hopes for 'fair process' in next West Coast bid
In his first television interview since the bidding process for the West Coast mainline was restarted, Sir Richard Branson criticises the civil servants who dealt with the bid and says he's hopeful Virgin will now run the route for 'many years.'
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Background to West Coast 'fiasco'
Report finds West Coast rail franchise process 'flawed'
An accumulation of "significant errors" by the Department for Transport resulted in a "flawed" West Coast rail franchise process
Read the full storyBackground to West Coast 'fiasco'
The Department for Transport initially gave FirstGroup, rather than Virgin Trains, the contract for a new 13-year West Coast franchise
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Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin will update MPs on the West Coast rail franchise fiasco
Due to what he described as "unacceptable mistakes" by Department for Transport (DfT) officials, Mr McLoughlin was forced to scrap the West Coast franchise bidding process.
In August, the DfT announced that transport giant FirstGroup, rather than Virgin Trains, had won the contract.