The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
East Coast Main Line services are back under public control
Virgin Trains East Coast failed to reach revenue targets
Services on the East Coast Main Line have been brought back under public control following the failure of the Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) franchise.
Trains on the vital route between London and Scotland are being run by the Department for Transport’s (DFT) Operator of Last Resort, branded as London North Eastern Railway (LNER).
The first LNER service departed from Newcastle to London King’s Cross at 7.54 am yesterday.
VTEC, a joint venture between Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin (10%), began operating in March 2015.
The firms agreed to pay the Government £3.3 billion to run trains until 2023, but the contract was ended prematurely after they failed to achieve revenue targets.
LNER will operate until a publicprivate partnership takes responsibility for both trains and track operations in 2020.
All VTEC staff have been transferred to LNER as part of the transition.
Managing director David Horne said: “Our message to everyone who depends on this service is that it is business as usual.
“Existing tickets are still valid on our services, and new tickets can be bought in the same way. The same scheduled trains are also in operation.”
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling refuted accusations from Labour and trade unions that his decision to end VTEC’S franchise early was a “bailout” worth £2 billion.
The switch from VTEC to LNER is costing an estimated £8 million, which includes marketing, rebranding and IT set up.
VTEC is the third private operator to fail to complete the full length of a contract to run East Coast services.
Trains were run by the DFT for six years up to VTEC taking over.