Citation: [2020] EWHC 1568 (TCC)
Judgment has been handed down in the rail franchising litigation, where the Secretary of State for Transport (represented by: Fionnuala McCredie QC, Rachael O’Hagan and Harriet Di Francesco) received a huge victory in defeating proceedings brought to challenge its procurement decisions in respect of the South Eastern, East Midlands and West Coast rail franchises.
The three Claimants (Arriva, Stagecoach and WCTP) issued proceedings challenging the decision of the Secretary of State to disqualify them and made other complaints about the procedure the Secretary of State had adopted. Their complaints concerned (amongst other things) the treatment of pensions. Following an expedited process, the pensions issues were heard at trial over three weeks in January and February 2020.
In a detailed judgment, Mr Justice Stuart-Smith rejected the Claimants’ claims in their entirety.
