THE transport minister is in Falmouth tomorrow for a tour of its emergency sea rescue services before meeting rail representatives to discuss the Great Western rail franchise.
The Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP, will first visit the Falmouth RNLI boat station and then the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre where he will meet volunteers and staff and watch a presentation about the work of the Marine Coastguard Agency in Cornwall.
He will then head to the National Maritime Museum to discuss the rail franchise with representatives from First Great Western, Cornwall Council, the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership, local MPs and the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership.
last year the Government was forced to scrap its Great Western franchise deal awarded to FirstGroup after a legal challenge by Virgin.
Flaws were also uncovered in the bidding process handled by Department for Transport (DfT) officials.
The Government has confirmed that a franchise to award a new 15-year contract would not start until 2016.
