Petition Sign the West Coast rail franchise agreement with First Group immediately

We the undersigned urge the government to move immediately to sign the contract to award the West Coast Mainline rail franchise to FirstGroup.
We are tired of the consistently poor performance and high fares charged by the incumbent operator and of the assertion of a divine right by its co-owner to operate this franchise in perpetuity.
There is no evidence to suggest that FirstGroup will operate a better or worse service than Virgin Rail but it has promised to operate more services, connecting more towns directly to the network. It is also in a better position than Virgin Rail to integrate its West Coast schedules with its other franchises such as Transpennine Express, Great Western and Scotrail.
All things being equal, and taking into account that FirstGroup has offered a greater fee to run it, FirstGroup should be contracted as operator at the first opportunity.