News: UK government to take over rail services on the East Coast Main Line

Class 91 Virgin Trains East Coast
locomotive at London King's Cross
16th May 2018

There was huge railway news this afternoon as Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announces the state takeover of the East Coast Main Line.

The current operators, Virgin Trains East Coast (owned by Stagecoach and Virgin Trains), will hand over services to the government on 24 June 2018. This is the third time in over a decade that the government have felt the need to intervene with an East Coast franchise. Taking over services in March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast was initially intended to operate services until 2023, however, the news today comes as no surprise.

The Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, addressed the House of Commons today stating "we will start with the launch of a new long-term brand for the East Coast mainline through the recreation of one of Britain's iconic rail brands, the London and North Eastern Railway" (LNER). Whilst this decision is highly politically, I will let you decide for yourselves whether the railways should be nationalised. 

London King's Cross
16th May 2018

The LNER operated services along the East Coast Main Line from 1923 until 1948. The East Coast Main Line connects London with many northern cities such as Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh, with other operators using the track, such as Hull Trains and Great Northern. There are numerous questions that have arisen today that need to be answered. 

Short-term issues for passengers

Virgin Trains East Coast stated on Twitter earlier "Following today's franchise announcement, please be assured services are unaffected. You can continue to make bookings and travel with us as normal." For regular Virgin Trains East Coast passengers, such as myself, services should not be affected up to and beyond the 24 June. The Transport Secretary today has also stated that season tickets, timetables and employment conditions would remain unchanged. 

Long-term plans

Despite short-term questions being addressed, some of Virgin Trains East Coast stakeholders have long-term concerns. Under Virgin Trains East Coast, there has been an increase in services of 11%, and there have been plans put in place to further increase services. Passengers to and from Lincoln have been concerned today, as there is currently one train in each direction (07:30 from Lincoln Central and 19:06 from London King's Cross*), however, there have been long plans under Virgin Trains East Coast to increase services to one every two hours along this route. Whether these plans will be enforced under LNER is yet to be seen.

Furthermore, many Virgin Trains East Coast passengers have been excited ahead of the launch of Azuma on the network. Class 800s, Intercity Express Trains, have been introduced across Britain since October 2017, with 23 of them planned to be slowly introduced on the East Coast by the end of this year, with the nickname Azuma, which is Japanese for East. Will these be making an appearance for passengers under LNER? It is likely the Class 800s will be replacing the Class 43s and Class 91s currently used as planned, however, it is unclear whether the 'Azuma' name will still be present. 

Is this the beginning of the state taking control of the entire rail network? Perhaps not, as it is likely a new process to find a next franchise will begin in 2020. Whilst there are numerous questions that are not yet answered, in the short term passengers should not be affected. 

*From Lincoln Central 07:30 Monday-Friday, 07:33 Saturday and none on Sunday. From London King's Cross 19:06 Monday-Friday, 18:08 Saturday and 19:08 Sunday.