London North Eastern Railway
| File:London North Eastern Railway Logo.png | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | InterCity East Coast 24 June 2018 - 2020 |
| Main region(s) | Greater London East of England East Midlands Yorkshire and the Humber North East England Scotland |
| Fleet | 31 Class 91 electric locomotives 30 InterCity 225 sets |
| Stations called at | 53 |
| Stations operated | 12 |
| Parent company | DfT OLR Holdings Ltd (government owned company in conjunction with Arup Group). |
| Reporting mark | GR |
| Other | |
| Website | http://www.lnerailway.co.uk |
London North Eastern Railway Limited, branded as London North Eastern Railway (LNER), is a train operating company that will operate the InterCity East Coast franchise from London Kings Cross to the North East and Scotland on the East Coast Main Line from 24 June 2018.[1][2] It was announced by Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling on 16 May 2018.
A new board will be created with an independent chairman as part of a public-private partnership in the future. It was also announced the Great Northern Services could be integrated into the franchise when it expires in 2021.[3]
History
In November 2017 Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling announced the early termination of the East Coast franchise in 2020, three years ahead of schedule, following losses on the route by the operator Virgin Trains East Coast, who had been due to pay more than £2 billion in franchise premiums to the government over the last four years of its contract.[4][5]
This was brought forward in February 2018 to mid-2018. The DfT decided to either negotiate a deal with VTEC to continue to run the franchise on a temporary non-profit basis while a new franchise competition is conducted or to arrange for VTEC be taken over by the DfT's operator of last resort, a partnership of Arup Group, Ernst & Young and SNC-Lavalin Rail & Transit.[6][7][8] On 16th May 2018 it was announced that the latter had been decided and that LNER would take over from Virgin Trains East Coast on 24th June 2018.
References
- ^ "East coast main line trains back in public hands again next month". Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ "LNER". www.lnerailway.co.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Elder, Bryce (29 November 2017). "Stagecoach soars after government intervenes on contract". Financial Times. London: Nikkei. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ Topham, Gwyn (29 November 2017). "East Coast rail 'bailout' could cost taxpayers hundreds of millions". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ "Stagecoach to lose East Coast Mainline rail franchise". BBC News. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- ^ "Stagecoach East Coast deal to end early". 6 February 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Virgin Trains East Coast franchise to end within months Railway Gazette International 6 February 2018
External Links
