Ex-Virgin rail boss gets takeover role

THE former boss of failed rail franchise Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) has described his appointment as head of its publicly owned replacement as “the right thing to do”.

David Horne was managing director of VTEC and was handed the same title at nationalised operator London North Eastern Railway (LNER) as part of the transition.

LNER began operating the vital route between London, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness yesterday after VTEC’s deal to pay the Government £3.3 billion to run services was ended early because the bid was too ambitious.

Mr Horne stressed that he “was not involved” in the 2013-14 bidding process and only joined the company at the beginning of 2015.

“The fact I’m transferring and everybody in the company is transferring will give us stability,” he said.

VTEC, a joint venture between Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin (10%), began operating in March 2015.