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Consortium to buy East Coast trains announced

A consortium involving Sir Richard Branson's train company Virgin Trains has been chosen to run the East Coast main line franchise from next year.

The Department for Transport said the consortium involving Virgin and transport company Stagecoach, who already run the West Coast line, will start the East Coast franchise in March 2015 .

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Labour MP calls for halt in franchise approval

Wakefield MP Mary Creagh has urged the government to put a halt to plans to sell the East Coast trains franchise, despite a consortium involving Stagecoach and Virgin being announced as the new owners.

Wakefield MP Mary Creagh has urged the government to put a halt to plans to sell the East Coast trains franchise Credit: Press Association

Ms. Creagh, who was Shadow Secretary of State for Transport until recently, said that the contract had not yet been signed and there was still time for the government to reverse the decision:

The taxpayer and Wakefield rail passengers have been sold down the river by the government. Publicly run East Coast will have returned over £1billion to the taxpayer and is one of the best train operating companies in the country.

The contract has not yet been signed and Labour is calling for the franchise process to be halted. It’s absurd that our own public operator is the only rail company in the world barred from challenging to run its own services.

Labour has challenged this ideological nonsense. We would legislate to allow a not-for-profit public sector operator to take on and challenge train operators on a level playing field.

– Mary Creagh, MP
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Consortium to buy East Coast trains announced

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