25.03.13
Government to re-privatise East Coast train services
Train services on the East Coast Main Line are soon to be run by the private sector once again, the Government will confirm this week.
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin will outline plans to tender the London to Edinburgh route, which has been run by a state-owned company since National Express reneged on a £1.4bn contract in 2009.
The move is expected to revive rivalry between Virgin and FirstGroup, both of whom are expected to bid to run services on the route.
East Coast is currently run by the state-owned Directly Operated Railways. The Government may consider management contracts rather than a full franchise, which present more risk to the operator but could offer greater earning potential.
The franchise programme is to be restarted following the cancellation of the West Coast contract last summer, and two independent reviews into the errors that occurred. Sam Laidlaw and Richard Brown both concluded that franchising was not broken as a mechanism for awarding contracts.
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