A GROUP of MPs will today urge the Government to come clean over growing fears that the recession could force Virgin to walk away from its flagship West Coast rail contract.
The Liverpool to London route is among several franchises described as "facing financial distress", in a highly-critical report by the Commons transport select committee.
The report high lighted how Virgin West Coast's revenue growth over the 11 months to March this year was a puny 0.5%, as the economic crash took its toll on ticket sales.
And it warned of the dire consequences for the public purse if Richard Branson's company went the way of East Coast operator National Express – which handed back the keys earlier this month.
The committee, chaired by Liverpool MP Louise Ellman, also launched a fierce attack on ministers for ignoring its warnings of three years ago that the franchise system was broken.
And it turned its fire on attempts to create a fairer fares system, warning that passengers must still go to "extraordinary lengths" to obtain affordable tickets.
On July 1, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis revealed that a publicly-owned company would be set up to run trains on the East Coast line at the end of the year.
The move followed the refusal by crisis-hit National Express to put in any further funding – and the government's refusal to renegotiate the contract.
Today's report, entitled Rail Franchising Off The Rails, suggests other train operators may follow suit, raising fears about no fewer than four franchises, including Virgin West Coast.
