The West coast rail franchise - where is the voice of the customer?

This is about customer consultation. Rhion Jones constrasts the way in which decisions on rail franchises are taken with changes to public services - where public consultation is a legal pre-requisite. Where in the recent process was any attempt to understand let alone heed the views of West coast customers? The Consultation Institute is not taking sides - but someone needs to chamption the cause of key stakeholders - and that includes passengers!