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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/31/train-operators-angry-rail-franchise-delays
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Train operators angry at further rail franchise delays | Train operators angry at further rail franchise delays |
| (25 days later) | |
| Train operators have reacted furiously after the government announced that the three franchise competitions frozen in the wake of the West Coast main line fiasco last autumn would be scrapped or further delayed without compensation for bidders. | Train operators have reacted furiously after the government announced that the three franchise competitions frozen in the wake of the West Coast main line fiasco last autumn would be scrapped or further delayed without compensation for bidders. |
| FirstGroup, the great loser in the Department for Transport debacle, has been handed a consolation prize of extensions to two of its franchises – First Capital Connect and First Great Western. While transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the decisions were an important step to restarting the rail franchising programme, some of the biggest players have reacted with dismay and warned of "lost momentum". | FirstGroup, the great loser in the Department for Transport debacle, has been handed a consolation prize of extensions to two of its franchises – First Capital Connect and First Great Western. While transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the decisions were an important step to restarting the rail franchising programme, some of the biggest players have reacted with dismay and warned of "lost momentum". |
| Three franchise competitions were "paused" after the DfT overturned FirstGroup's £7bn winning bid for the lucrative London-Manchester-Glasgow service and reinstated Virgin Trains following the discovery of irregularities in the bidding process. | Three franchise competitions were "paused" after the DfT overturned FirstGroup's £7bn winning bid for the lucrative London-Manchester-Glasgow service and reinstated Virgin Trains following the discovery of irregularities in the bidding process. |
| Those franchises were: Essex Thameside; the London-to-Swansea Great Western route; and Thameslink, which operates as First Capital Connect. | Those franchises were: Essex Thameside; the London-to-Swansea Great Western route; and Thameslink, which operates as First Capital Connect. |
| Now FirstGroup, like Virgin Trains on the west coast, has been given two more years to run its current franchises on the Great Western and Thameslink commuter services. | Now FirstGroup, like Virgin Trains on the west coast, has been given two more years to run its current franchises on the Great Western and Thameslink commuter services. |
| The Great Western contest will be scrapped, while Thameslink and Thameside have been delayed. | The Great Western contest will be scrapped, while Thameslink and Thameside have been delayed. |
| While the DfT has agreed to pay costs of £45m to bidders for the aborted west coast main line franchise, the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said he did "not believe it would be appropriate to reimburse bidders" on Great Western. | While the DfT has agreed to pay costs of £45m to bidders for the aborted west coast main line franchise, the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said he did "not believe it would be appropriate to reimburse bidders" on Great Western. |
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