On the first day of the Tory Party conference rail union RMT revealed that more accountants than engineers were involved in the ConDem betrayal of UK train building over the Thameslink contract.
In a written Lords answer it is revealed that of the nine officials who evaluated the Thameslink tenders only two people had an engineering background.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:
“The news that there were more accountants than engineers involved in assessing the Thameslink contract is yet more evidence as to how the betrayal of Bombardier was allowed to happen.
“This shameful episode has been dominated by accountants and management consultants on £20 million worth of fat fees while the engineering excellence of Bombardier at Derby has been totally ignored.
“No wonder nobody spotted the fact that Siemens don’t even have the crucial bogie in production while Bombardier’s wheel and chassis unit s rated as the best in the world. That’s what happens when you put bean counters and politicians in charge of key engineering decisions that have the power to destroy train making in the nation that gave the railways to the world.”
