16.05.14
Unions’ East Coast ‘privatisation’ challenge quashed in High Court
A judicial review applied for by the main rail unions to challenge the government’s policy on East Coast and the direct award of rail franchises has been quashed by the High Court.
Mrs Justice Patterson quashed the challenge – brought forward by Aslef, RMT and the TSSA – which means the government can go forward with its intended programme of issuing new franchises.
In a statement sent to RTM after Wednesday’s decision, rail minister Stephen Hammond MP said that the decision was a “ringing endorsement” of the franchising programme. He added that it also sends a message out to those “intent on pursuing an ideological argument that has no benefit for passengers”.
But Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, told RTM: “We went for judicial review because of our concerns over a lack of transparency. In the light of this decision, our fears over not just what is going on, but the way in which it is being handled – the complete lack of transparency in the process – will still be shared by the vast majority of people in this country.”
Mick Cash, RMT acting general secretary, added that the legal battle had only reached the “first stage” and the unions would not give up.
Originally, in the rail unions’ application for judicial review, they argued that the government in “its haste to push services back into the private sector” had cut corners, such as breaching its own commitment to proper consultation of stakeholders, including passenger groups and the rail unions over East Coast.
Additionally, they were concerned that there was a risk that “overbidding by private operators and inadequate and rushed evaluation of the bids would, as on previous occasions, lead to cuts to staff and services and even the franchise collapsing”.
At the time, the DfT stated that it would vigorously defend itself against these claims. Following this week’s decision, Hammond added: “This enables us to continue to build a better railway with record levels of investment, faster trains, better punctuality and more pleasant journeys for passengers up and down the country.”
Cash, speaking on behalf of the RMT and TSSA, said: “We believe the DfT’s response to the claim is vague, contradictory and demonstrates that they have misapplied the law, and we are confident that the court will recognise our claim.”
The unions now have the right of appeal and to a hearing, where their challenge will be examined afresh. However, it could take some time for this process to begin.
The government has already invited three companies to tender their franchise bids – Inter City Railways Limited (Stagecoach Transport Holdings Limited and Virgin Holdings Limited); Keolis/Eurostar East Coast Limited (Keolis (UK) Limited and Eurostar International Limited; and East Coast Trains Ltd (First Group plc) – and has published the full franchise specification too.
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(Image: Rob Enwiki, used here under a Creative Commons licence)