Today’s confirmation by the Department for Transport that Keolis SNCF West Coast is being invited to bid for the InterCity West Coast rail franchise was warmly welcomed by both companies.
Alistair Gordon, chief executive of Keolis UK, said: ‘We are delighted to be qualified for the next stage.
‘Our partnership is underpinned by a wide range of world-class experience and skills gained in the UK and overseas including intercity and high-speed services. We are determined to use this to provide a compelling bid.
‘We look forward to working with stakeholders throughout the franchise area in the coming weeks as we develop our proposals.’
Bertrand Guillon, UK development director for SNCF Proximites, said: ‘We are very pleased to have qualified for this tender and will do all we can to bring our resources, experience and expertise to the InterCity West Coast franchise for the benefit of rail customers.’
Is it me? How come state owned British Rail was deemed unfit to run services in the UK yet we are shortlisting Foreign state owned companies from France and Holland to bid for the premier passenger franchise? Its an absolute nonsense! It is not only the Rail industry were this has occured, virtually all Thatcher/Majors privatised utilities have fallen into Foreign state control