YET another fine over the Southeastern rail franchise scandal reinforces the case for parent company Govia to be kicked off the railways, transport unions said today.

The rail firm, a joint venture between Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, has been handed a £23.5 million fine by the Department for Transport (DfT).

The penalty comes after it deliberately concealed more than £25m of historic taxpayer funding for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which should have been returned.

Its operator, London and South Eastern Railway Limited, ran Southeastern from 2006 until it was stripped of the franchise in October last year, with services effectively nationalised.

The latest sanction is on top of £64m the government said it is recovering from Govia in relation to the serious contract breach.

A Go Ahead spokesman accepted the penalty, saying its “corporate governance procedures have been enhanced” and the group is now under new leadership. 

But RMT general sectary Mick Lynch said that Govia, which continues to operate Thameslink Railway services, “should be deprived of its lucrative London commuter routes” as part of a push to end privatisation across the network. 

TSSA head Manuel Cortes backed the call, branding the company a disgrace.