FirstGroup's East Coast bid shunted off course

VIRGIN Trains' attempt to unseat GNER on the lucrative East Coast main line out of London King's Cross has been strengthened after rival bidder FirstGroup was referred to the Competition Commission.

The Office of Fair Trading has called for an investigation into FirstGroup's bid because it runs the TransPennine Express and Hull Trains franchises and would have a monopoly on mainline routes from Doncaster and Grantham, Lincs, to London and on some lines in Yorkshire.

Virgin seems to have escaped a referral despite the fact that, if it won the franchise - starting in May - it would have a monopoly on services between London and Scotland as it runs theWest Coast main line out of London Euston. A joint venture between Sir Richard Branson and Stagecoach, Virgin argues that rail makes up a small percentage of journeys to and from Scotland compared with road and air.

OFT competition enforcement officer Vincent Smith said of FirstGroup's bid: "This might lessen competition to the detriment of the travelling public. FirstGroup has not offered any undertakings that the OFT has been able to accept in lieu of a reference.'