London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

New rail contract award to Go-Ahead branded ‘a sick joke’

New rail contract award to Go-Ahead branded ‘a sick joke’

Contract to run Britain’s biggest commuter rail network comes a week after £23.5m fine
The transport group Go-Ahead has been awarded a new contract to run Britain’s biggest commuter rail network – a week after being fined £23.5m for wrongly withholding £50m of taxpayers’ money on another franchise.

The rail union RMT said it was a “sick joke” that the group’s Govia joint venture was given a three-year deal to continue running the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise, which served about a million passengers daily pre-Covid.

Govia, a joint venture led by Go-Ahead with the French firm Keolis, was stripped of the Southeastern franchise by the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, last September for “breaches of good faith”.

The firm’s £23.5m fine from the Department for Transport for failings on Southeastern was less than the £30m it had set aside. Go-Ahead’s share price has risen 20% in the last week on the smaller fine and rumours of a fresh award.

The group’s chief financial officer, Elodie Brian, who was the chief financial officer at Southeastern during the period where most breaches occurred, from 2014-19, quit last September as the scandal emerged. The Go-Ahead chief executive, David Brown, also stepped down.

Investigations since found more irregularities at Southeastern, dating back to 2006. Go-Ahead eventually repaid £51.3m, including interest, of the money it had wrongly withheld in overpayments from the DfT. The case has been referred to the Serious Fraud Office.

Although senior directors worked at both franchises, an investigation led by the chairs of Go-Ahead and Keolis found no evidence that any similar accounting issues existed at Govia Thameslink Railway as Southeastern.

The general secretary of the RMT, Mick Lynch, said: “Shapps has done this having been reassured that Go-Ahead are safe with public money on the strength of a report conducted by the same people who ripped off the public in the first place.

“This was a totally unnecessary decision, driven by an ideological fixation with greed and profit because the operator of last resort, which picked up the wreckage of Govia’s Southeastern franchise, was ready and waiting to take over and run it in the public sector.”

Manuel Cortes, the TSSA general secretary, said the move “beggars belief”, adding: “Shapps is throwing good money after bad.”

The new contract starts on 1 April 2022 and will run for at least three years, with a possible three-year extension. Go-Ahead is one of the last British private firms running a UK rail network, with the state-run Operator of Last Resort now in charge at Northern and LNER as well as Southeastern.

The deal is a management contract, which, unlike franchises, has no cost risk to the operator. Govia Thameslink Railway, or GTR, will earn a fixed fee of £8.8m a year and up to £22.9m on top if it meets performance targets. The £31.7m maximum is equivalent to a margin of about 1.85%, Go-Ahead said.

The rail minister, Wendy Morton, said: “With their plans for improving the punctuality, reliability and accessibility of their services through close collaboration with Network Rail, we are proud to partner with GTR to create a truly passenger-focused service.”

Christian Schreyer, the chief executive of Go-Ahead, said: “A top priority is to build passenger numbers back after the Covid-19 pandemic. Go-Ahead will bring commercial acumen and international experience to bear in encouraging people back to the railways.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×