FGW - Fined ú17 million

[AJR]

Source: thisisbristol.co.uk

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FIRST GREAT WESTERN IS FINED ú17M FOR DELAYS

11:00 - 06 December 2005

Train operator First Great Western has been fined more than ú17 million for delayed and cancelled services. The company which runs services from Bristol to London has racked up on average ú2.5million each year in "performance penalties" between 1998/1999 and 2005/2005.

Rail chiefs imposed the fines because the company, which operates dozens of daily services between Bristol and London Paddington, was responsible for so many late or cancelled trains. This meant thousands of frustrated passengers had been forced to stand on platforms waiting for trains which failed to arrive promptly.

The company says they were disappointed with the delays but the latest figures showed a significant improvement, and engineering work which took place after the Hatfield rail crash was responsible for many of the delays.

The worst year was 2001/02, when First Great Western clocked up ú5.4m in fines, according to official figures uncovered by Labour chairman of the Transport Select Committee, Gwyneth Dunwoody.

In total the company, which operates the Great Western franchise, has been fined ú17.7m during the seven year period. But fines in the last year were small compared with other operating companies - and the size of its fines have been falling since 2001/02.

First Great Western received ú1.06m in penalties in 2004/05, compared to the ú11.35m racked up by Central Trains, ú12.12m by South Central Trains and ú6.47m by Thameslink for the same period.

First Group, which runs First Great Western, is bidding alongside Stagecoach Group and the National Express Group to win the expanded Greater Western franchise.

Greater Western is one of the most lucrative prizes in the industry, with three rail franchises merged into one. Whoever wins could take up to half a billion pounds of revenue each year for the seven-year contract.

[James]

Underfunding = delays = fines = critical underfunding

WHY ARE THEY SO STUPID???

And why can't you encapsulate links in name