East Coast rail line open for bids

THE East Coast main line is expected to be back in private hands in less than two years under rail franchise plans announced by the Government today.

The line - a key London to Scotland route - has been run under the control of the Department for Transport since November 2009 after transport company National Express pulled out.

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Today, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced the start of a bidding competition for the East Coast franchise with an expected start of service by the new operator in February 2015.

He also published a detailed timetable for all rail franchise arrangements over the next eight years, following a major review after the West Coast bidding process had to be abandoned last year.

A new 13-year franchise for the West Coast had been awarded to transport company FirstGroup which won a bidding war with the incumbent firm, Virgin Trains.

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But the bidding had to be scrapped after serious mistakes by Department for Transport civil servants in the bidding process.

This led to two independent reviews - one on the West Coast fiasco and the other on the whole franchise process.

Today’s announcement is the direct result of the reviews and effectively sets the franchise process back on track.

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Mr McLoughlin said: “This programme is a major step in delivering tangible improvements to services, providing long-term certainty to the market and supporting our huge programme of rail investment.

“Above all, in future franchise competitions we are placing passengers in the driving seat by ensuring that their views and satisfaction levels are taken into account when deciding which companies run our railway services.

“Franchising has been a force for good in the story of Britain’s railways, transforming an industry that was in decline into one that today carries record numbers of passengers.”