The Direct Awards have encouraged stagnation rather than incentivise bidders to innovate for the sake of passengers.
Whilst the DfT may be wary of a judicial review there is something more fundamental than that. The potential players don't come to the party and instead stay at home or focus limited capital resources on less risky ventures with higher returns, as National Express chose to do.
If it ain't broke don't fix it! Much as I dislike the Branson empire and (all that is associated with it) I would say that we are currently seeing the result of the thing that is anathema to the free-marketeer wheeler-deelers: Stability!
Management have learnt how their railway works, the staff seem to be up to an appropriate number - and on top of the job too. Also there are sufficiently few changes happening that the organisation can cope with them.
There are still things that need fixing - like the one train an hour northbound from Crewe on the WCML proper - but evolution is needed rather than revolution.
To my mind the best thing that could happen would be to keep the whole show together but bring it into Directly Operated Railways, or whatever the current fig-leaf is for a publicly-operated pretend franchise. That way there wouldn't be all the legal shenanigins over compensation due to HS2 construction, or airy-fairy guesses at financial performance while the railway is ripped up round them. We've had too many financial disasters over hospital management, hospital building, Prison-running and probation services, PFI school and other public sector building provision... the list is endless.
People who know what is needed bid appropriately (and lose.) Shysters and chancers put in a low bid (and damage the people who bid correctly but wasted their money doing it) then either completely bugger up the service trying to make their money or just throw in the towel and let someone else try to pick up the pieces - or worse, both.
