Bombardier could win Thameslink deal

Train maker Bombardier was given hope after the Department for Transport confirmed the company could still step in to work on the £1.4 billion contract to replace Thameslink rolling stock. And last night the author of a report criticising the tender process, a leading academic at Manchester Business School, called for the full details of the tender to be made public. Professor Karel Williams said the government needed "to take legal advice to see how they can best work around this to get the best outcome for British industry". Under the terms of the tender, German firm Siemens remains the preferred bidder to undertake the work. But Bombardier chairman Colin Walton said this week the government has the power to bypass Siemens and chose his firm, which employs 3,000 people in the UK. A spokesman for the Department for Transport last night did not rule out the move, and said it would follow ‘procedure' on the issue. From / Gulf News