PASSENGERS on the West Coast Main Line face further uncertainty after it emerged train services could be run by three different operators in three years.
The RMT union warned passengers will suffer months of uncertainty after the Department for Transport confirmed Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Trains, which had initially lost the London to Glasgow franchise to Aberdeen-based FirstGroup, will continue running the service into 2013.
Ministers also announced that instead of immediately re-running the cancelled franchise competition they would find an interim operator.
The RMT said the move could lead to three different franchise holders in only a few years, creating more upheaval for passengers.
The future of the line – which connects London Euston with cities in the west Midlands, the north-west, north Wales and terminates at Glasgow Central –descended into farce last month after ministers cancelled plans to hand the franchise to run the service to FirstGroup, admitting the fiasco would cost taxpayers tens of millions of pounds.
Virgin Trains had held the contract since 1997 but lost out on the new 13-year deal. However, ministers were forced to cancel the new franchise after admitting problems in their calculations.
Despite the cancellation, there had been continuing confusion over who would run the service when Virgin's contract runs out on December 9.
The Tory-LibDem Government said it had asked Virgin to con-tinue operating the London to Scotland line for another nine to 13 months. During that time ministers plan to run a competition to find an interim operator. Only after that will they award a new franchise.
The Government said its priority was to ensure passengers were not affected.
However, unions accused the Government of a "shabby" deal.
Conservative Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the cancellation of the franchise had been deeply regrettable and re-iterated his apology to the com-panies involved and to taxpayers who, he said, had a right to expect better. "My priority now is to fix the problem and the first step is to take urgent action to ensure that on December 9 services continue to run to the same standard and passengers are not affected," he added.
"I believe Virgin remaining as operator for a short period of time is the best way to do this and my officials and I will be working flat out to make this happen."
A spokesman for Virgin said customers had made clear they wanted the firm to continue run-ning the service. "We will now be working to make sure we continue to provide the service that has made us successful," he added.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, described the move as an attempt by ministers to stitch up "a shabby deal that will enable them to rerun the whole franchise fiasco in a year's time".
He added: "Richard Branson and his shareholders are laughing all the way to the bank. Not only have they made hundreds of millions from the rail privatisation lottery but they have now scooped the rollover as well."
He also warned the Government risked turning the situation into "franchise anarchy".
Mr Crow added: "We are now told Virgin will cling on for a few months while an expensive, short-term franchise competition is run before a further costly, long-term contract exercise. We could end up with the nightmare of three different franchise holders in a few years on our most high-profile rail route while tens of millions of pounds are wasted on the franchise merry-go-round and thousands of staff are caught in the cross fire."
FirstGroup said it was awaiting the outcome of the independent investigations into the franchise fiasco.
Labour reiterated its call for the Government to "abandon privatisation" plans for East Coast train services. The party has said it would keep the East Coast route, which also links London and Scotland, in public ownership.
Although the call was rejected by the Coalition there were suggestions last night the franchise deal could be delayed as ministers get to the bottom of the West Coast Main Line scandal.
The state stepped in 2009 when National Express halted operations on the East Coast line but the Department for Transport had planned to return it to the private sector by December 2013.
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