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Virgin Trains and Stagecoach to run East Coast main line

A consortium involving Virgin Trains and Stagecoach will run the East Coast main line franchise from next year.

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East Coast contract signed by City Railways

The Department for Transport today confirmed it has officially signed the East Coast rail franchise contract with Inter City Railways, a venture between Stagecoach and Virgin.

A spokesman says the eight-year deal will give passengers between Edinburgh and London more seats, more services and new trains from March next year.

East Coaast trains stop at Newcastle, Durham, York, Darlington and Berwick-upon-Tweed.

East Coast services are coming under new ownership Credit: East Coast

“This is a fantastic deal which will give passengers on this vital route more seats, more services and new trains, and give British taxpayers outstanding value for money. With the signing of the contract, Stagecoach and Virgin are firmly on track to deliver these improvements. The new services have only been made possible by the government’s investment in the railways, a vital part of our long term economic plan.”

– TRANSPORT SECRETARY PATRICK MCLOUGHLIN

However the move has been strongly criticised by trade unions and some Labour MPs.

East Coast has been under public ownership since 2009.

Mick Cash from the RMT union described its privatisation as a "national disgrace" and said the current arrangement was earning the British people £1 billion:

It is a national disgrace and an act of utter betrayal that the government has confirmed that it is bulldozing ahead with the re-privatisation of the East Coast Main Line despite all the figures showing that the current public sector operator is handing over a billion pounds back to the British people while delivering huge improvements in service and customer satisfaction.

The decision to hand this profitable and successful public rail operation back to the vultures from Virgin/Stagecoach is based purely on hard-right political ideology and RMT is committed to continuing the fight to block this betrayal right up to polling day and beyond.

– MICK CASH, GENERAL SECRETARY RMT

We've heard these promises before - RMT

The transport union the RMT has criticised the re-privatisation of the East Coast mainline. North of England representative Craig Johnston said they had heard similar promises before from franchise holders which had not been fulfilled.

For Craig Johnston's full comments click below.

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New carpets, new seat covers, faster trains - Virgin Group outlines benefits

The Director of Corporate Affairs for the Virgin Group Richard Scott has outlined the benefits which will come from the new east coast train franchise.

He says it will mean faster journeys in refurbished trains. And you'll be abe to order food from your seat with a new phone app, he says.

For Richard Scott's full comments click below.

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City of York Council welcome Inter City Railway franchise

York's council have welcomed the franchising of the East Coast Main Line saying the move could enable economic growth in the city.

York already has over 5,000 people in rail related industries and we see this as a potential area for growth that Stagecoach and Virgin Group can support by locating their headquarters in the city, following on from the precedent set by previous operators of Inter City East Coast services. This will help underline the point that York is a place where the rail industry can do business, with ready access to skilled people and other rail organisations. We are looking forward to working with Stagecoach and Virgin Group to discuss how we can work together to improve both rail services and employment opportunities for our city.

– Cllr David Levene, Cabinet Member for Transport

East Coast: the facts and figures

East Coast train Credit: East Coast

Here are some key facts and figures about East Coast main line rail company.

It has been announced that a consortium involving Virgin Trains and Stagecoach will run the East Coast main line franchise from next year.

  • Passenger journeys have increased by 1.1m in the past five years.
  • Journeys between Scotland and London have increased by 23%.
  • Customer satisfaction has increased from 89% in 2009 to 91% in 2014.
  • Revenue has increased from £581.3m in 2008-2009 to £652.6m to 2013-14.
  • East Coast invested £48m since 2009.
  • The taxpayer has received £1 billion back in premium payments and profits.
  • In partnership with Network Rail, redeveloped Newcastle station through an £8.6 million investment
  • East Coast - based in York - employs 2,800 people based at stations, depots and offices from London to Inverness.
  • East Coast’s Highland Chieftain service is Britain’s longest single continuous train journey operating daily between London and Inverness, a distance of 581 miles, and taking 8 hours and 6 minutes.
  • Since the spring of 2011, East Coast has been recognised by numerous industry organisations, and the Company has been the recipient of 55 such awards
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Green Party slam East Coast privatisation move

The Green Party in Thirsk and Malton have slammed the government's decision to privatise the East Coast Main Line after it was announced a consortium involving Virgin and Stagecoach will run services from March 2015.

The party said people in the area depend on current links which they say have been the "best level of service" in the UK. They described the move as a "spiteful, dogmatic decision".

I travel this line regularly and have seen first hand the improvements that have been made. Most people believe rail is critically important and should be in public hands. It is a disgrace that a minority government should make this perverse decision so near to an election.

– Nic Burton, Green Party Thirsk and Malton

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Rail union: East Coast privatisation a 'national disgrace'

Rail union, the RMT, have criticised the government's decision to privatise the East Coast mainline and sell it to a consortium involving Virgin and Stagecoach.

Mick Cash described it as a "national disgrace" and said the current arrangement was earning the British people £1 billion:

It is a national disgrace and an act of utter betrayal that the government has confirmed that it is bulldozing ahead with the re-privatisation of the East Coast Main Line despite all the figures showing that the current public sector operator is handing over a billion pounds back to the British people while delivering huge improvements in service and customer satisfaction.

It is simply ludicrous to even contemplate re-privatisation when not only have there been two previous private sector failures on the East Coast route but when the public-sector rescue operation has been such a stunning success. This is pure industrial vandalism by a rotten government hell bent on wrecking successful public services in the name of private greed.

While domestic public ownership puts money back into the coffers that can be reinvested in our railways the private operators suck out colossal sums in subsidies and profits - that's what privatisation means.

The decision to hand this profitable and successful public rail operation back to the vultures from Virgin/Stagecoach is based purely on hard-right political ideology and RMT is committed to continuing the fight to block this betrayal right up to polling day and beyond.

– Mick Cash, General Secretary RMT
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Transport Secretary: Franchise to serve places which haven't been served before

The Transport Secretary says the new franchise which will take over the running of East Coast trains will bring services to places which have never had them.

Huddersfield, Harrogate, Lincoln and Dewsbury are among the places to be promised new or increased services.

Patrick McLoughlin says it is a good story for the East Coast:

Shadow Transport Secretary: public 'sold down the river'

Virgin will be running the UK's two main London to Scotland rail routes in 2015. The Government announced today that a consortium involving Virgin Group and Stagecoach had been chosen to operate a new eight-year East Coast franchise.

Virgin and Stagecoach already operate the West Coast main line.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the new franchise was "a fantastic deal for passengers and for staff on this vital route" and would give passengers "more seats, more services and new trains".

But shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher disagrees. He says the travelling public had been "sold down the river".

"The taxpayer and the travelling public have been sold down the river. This whole franchise process shouldn't have happened.

"East Coast has ... established itself as one of the best train operating companies in the country. Rather than rigging the franchise timetable in order to sell it off before the election, David Cameron's Government should have been putting the public interest first and working to get a better deal for passengers."

"It's absurd that our own public operator is the only rail company in the world that has been barred from challenging to run its own services, on the ideological grounds that it is British and publicly owned."

– Shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher

Unite calls East Coast decision a 'betrayal'

Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, has branded the East Coast decision a 'betrayal'.

A consortium involving Virgin Trains and Stagecoach will run the East Coast main line franchise from next year. The decision marks the return to the private sector for East Coast, which has been run by the Department for Transport since 2009.

"This nakedly political decision to rush through this reprivatisation before the general election is a betrayal of the taxpayers and staff who have made East Coast a success.

"Rail privatisation has spectacularly failed both taxpayers and the travelling public. Rather than one that has glued itself to a failed dogma, we need a government that puts the people and our national bank balance first."

– Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary
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