Industry reaction to Grayling’s announcement

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash claimed that the general public want the railway nationalised permanently.

“This is the second time that the Government has called upon the public sector to launch a rescue operation on the East Coast Main Line, and instead of being a temporary arrangement Chris Grayling should listen to his staff and the public and make it permanent,” he said.

“After three shambolic private sector failures on the East Coast, the message should now sink in that these cowboys cannot be trusted and should be locked out of the system on a permanent basis. Anything else risks playing out the same expensive farce over and over again.”

Transport Focus Chief Executive Anthony Smith said the quality of service that is currently offered needs to continue… and improve.

“East Coast is currently the top-rated franchised train service in Great Britain - with 92% overall satisfaction with the last journey in the latest National Rail Passenger Survey,” he said.

“While reliability must continue to improve, and promised and new investments made, passengers will continue to judge services by the performance on the day of the train company and Network Rail, value for money, cleanliness of the train and crowding levels.

“Having more stability in the underlying contract between Government and the train company will help achieve these things that matter most to passengers.”

Rail Delivery Group Chief Executive Paul Plummer said: “The private sector in rail, including Stagecoach Virgin on the East Coast route, has brought significant benefits, but we have already been making the case to government for reform.

“There is an opportunity to reform the franchising system for the long-term so it can deliver more for customers, communities, taxpayers and the economy.

“We will work with governments to make a success of the East Coast Partnership while also setting out a bold vision for the future of franchising to benefit Britain.”