Extension given for rail franchise

Union boss Bob Crow has slammed the decision to extend the National Express rail franchise for East Anglia
12 April 2012

National Express has been given a 28-week extension to its East Anglia rail franchise, leading to complaints that it is being rewarded for "failure".

The transport giant announced that the Government had agreed to extend the original franchise expiry date of March 2011.

National Express Group chief executive Dean Finch said: "We're pleased to have been given this initial extension and to be able to continue to serve our customers on the East Anglia franchise.

"We continue to explore opportunities to deliver our industry-leading rail performance across both our franchises beyond 2011."

Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, said: "This is reward for failure on a massive scale. National Express walked away from the East Coast franchise leaving a trail of chaos in their wake and were supposed to be barred from bidding for new work or being awarded any extensions.

"Instead of being punished, the ConDems have given them a contract extension that will have National Express laughing all the way to the bank.

"National Express have proved themselves on the East Coast Mainline to be wholly unsuitable for running rail services.

"They have raked off tens of millions in profits and soaked up huge sums in public subsidies for running a dire quality of service and instead of being fired they've been given a franchise extension.

"Today's news exposes the madness of rail privatisation and reinforces the case for public ownership."

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