"Chris Tolley" wrote in message
...
Paul Corfield wrote:

Over the life of the franchise, seven years and four months, the
DfT will receive a premium of £133m from Stagecoach Midland Rail
Limited.

and

Stagecoach Midland Rail Limited have indicated they may wish
to raise unregulated fares annually by an average of 3.4% above
inflation.

Once again, we see the magic of the franchise bidding system at work.
Promise a huge premium to win the bid, then get the customers to foot
the bill for it.

Yup, alrady suffering that on SouthWest Trains, where 1 pound in every 5
goes to the government. Not Network Rail, or anywhere else related to the
railway, but straight into the exchequer as general taxation. There may not
be VAT on transport, but there's already a 25% (stealth) tax on my train
fares.