The government’s row with Stagecoach centres on a big deficit in the Railways Pension Scheme. “They have known about this qualification in our bid on pensions for months.” “We’re baffled why the DfT did not tell us that we would be disqualified or even discuss the issue,” he added, referring to a dispute between Stagecoach and the government over how much of rail staff pension liabilities the company is willing to share. “I am devastated for the teams who have worked tirelessly to make Virgin Trains one of the best train companies in the UK, if not the world,” Branson wrote in a blogpost. Stagecoach said it had been informed that its bids were not compliant with the government’s terms, triggering an outpouring from its longstanding partner on the West Coast route. ![]() The government is to award the next franchise this June and, if the winning operator says it can start running a service by November, the handover would be brought forward. ![]() Virgin’s trains have run on the London to Glasgow line for 22 years and its joint venture with Stagecoach is due to expire on 31 March 2020 at the latest. The company said passenger numbers had nearly trebled from 14 million to 40 million a year under its stewardship, adding that it has led the way on innovations including digital ticketing, on-board entertainment and automatic compensation for delays. However, barring a change in the DfT’s rules or a legal challenge, Virgin Trains faces a spell in the sidings. The Virgin Group boss, Sir Richard Branson, has said he is “devastated”. Stagecoach is “seeking an urgent meeting” with DfT about the ruling. The Pendolinos are not owned by Virgin Trains and will transfer to new owners – with different branding, of course. MTR operates South Western Railway as a joint venture with FirstGroup.įor the foreseeable future. This is a joint venture between MTR Corp, which operates Hong Kong’s public transport network, and Guangshen Railway, which operates one of China’s biggest railways. The second contender is MTR West Coast Partnership. First Group won the West Coast franchise back in 2012 but then lost out after a legal challenge from Virgin Trains over how the government had awarded it. There are two bids still in the running for the route, now that Virgin Trains has been excluded.įirst, Trenitalia West Coast Rail is a joint venture between Aberdeen-based FirstGroup and Italian state operator Trenitalia SpA. Who will take over the West Coast franchise? The deadline for bids has passed, so Virgin Group cannot put in a bid with a new partner. The DfT did not mention Virgin in its ruling, but said Stagecoach “repeatedly ignored established rules”.Īs well as the West Coast route, which it operates in partnership with Virgin, Stagecoach had its bids for the East Midlands and South Eastern franchises rejected. This is because none of their offers met pensions standards. ![]() ![]() Stagecoach, which owns 49% of Virgin Rail Group Holdings, has had three rail bids blocked by the Department for Transport (DfT), including one to renew the West Coast franchise. The contract Virgin has for the West Coast line, which is in partnership with Stagecoach, expires officially on 31 March 2020.īut Virgin could disappear from railways for the first time since March 1997 in November if a new operator has been found by then. When is Virgin disappearing from UK railways?īy next spring at the latest, and possibly even earlier. The figure has hovered around £50m over the past three years.Īndy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, said: “This money could and should have been used to invest in services and hold fares down, not siphoned off by shareholders. The highest dividend in a single year was paid in 2009, when Virgin Rail Group paid out nearly £95m. The remaining £294m was allocated to the Stagecoach transport group, whose largest shareholder is the Scottish businessman and Scottish National party donor Brian Souter, together with his sister, Ann Gloag. The final total is likely to be higher once this year’s dividend is declared when the company’s next set of annual accounts is published in October next year.īranson’s Virgin Group owns 51% of the venture, giving him a £306m share of the overall dividend pot. Branson said on Wednesday the Virgin name could disappear from trains by November, after its joint venture partner, Stagecoach, was blocked from three franchises by the Department for Transport over its refusal to pay more into rail staff pensions.Īnalysis by the Guardian indicates that Virgin Rail Group Holdings, the joint venture company, will have collected at least £600m since its launch in 1997, a figure that drew criticism from Labour.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |