Andy McDonald MP, Labour’s Shadow
Transport Secretary, responding
to the failure
of the East Coast franchise, said:
“The Government
is trying to bury the news that they’re giving Stagecoach and Virgin a get out
of jail free card to walk away from their franchise and a potential £2billion
of payments to the Treasury.
“It is
outrageous that the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling is refusing to answer
what the true cost to the public purse will be.
“Under
public ownership, the East Coast Mainline returned over £1bn to the Treasury,
outperformed its commercial competitors and kept fares down when no private
operators made the same move.
“When the
Tories cynically re-privatised the line on the eve of the 2015 General
Election, they said the decision would deliver for the British taxpayer, but
we’re now being left with a colossal tab.
“The
Government must now come clean and reveal the true cost to the public purse of
this decision and bring to an end the costly failure that is privatised rail.”
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