Rail firm fined £23.5m for ‘breach of public trust’
The IndependentSign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A leading train operator has been issued with a penalty notice for £23.5m following the discovery that it had “deliberately concealed” over £25m of taxpayer funding. The Department for Transport found that “between October 2014 and March 2020, LSER had deliberately concealed over £25m of historic taxpayer funding” that should have been handed back. “LSER’s behaviour was simply unacceptable and this penalty sends a clear message that the government, and taxpayers, will not stand for it.” The DfT says it is recovering £64m owned by LSER “in relation to the franchise agreement contraventions outlined in the penalty notice”. Go Ahead Group issued a statement confirming the penalty “in respect of good faith contraventions of LSER franchise agreements”.
History of this topic
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Train firm stripped of franchise over failure to declare £25m of taxpayer cash
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