Branson blasts 'flawed' bid system

Sir Richard Branson has threatened to walk away from the rail industry after Virgin Rail lost its West Coast main line franchise to rival transport company FirstGroup.

Sir Richard said he was "extremely disappointed" that the Department for Transport (DfT) had preferred FirstGroup to Virgin which had run the London to Scotland West Coast line since 1997, adding: "Based on the current flawed system, it is extremely unlikely that we would bid again for a franchise."%VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%