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Stagecoach East Coast rail franchise to end early | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Stagecoach's contract to run the East Coast Mainline rail franchise will end earlier than expected after the government said the operator had "got its numbers wrong". | |
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said Stagecoach would continue running the London to Edinburgh line only for "a small number of months". | |
The contract, originally due to end in 2023, has already been cut short once. | The contract, originally due to end in 2023, has already been cut short once. |
Mr Grayling said day-to-day operation of the line would be unaffected. | |
He told the House of Commons Stagecoach was set to lose about £200m, equating to more than 20% of its total market value. | |
But he said there was "no question of a bailout" for the company, which runs the franchise with Virgin. | |
Mr Grayling said he was urgently seeking a successor arrangement, but had not yet decided which company would be awarded the franchise. | |
He said Stagecoach would be allowed to continue operating the franchise on a short-term and not-for-profit basis. | He said Stagecoach would be allowed to continue operating the franchise on a short-term and not-for-profit basis. |
East Coast Mainline could be brought back under government control as one of the options for maintaining the service. | East Coast Mainline could be brought back under government control as one of the options for maintaining the service. |
Mr Grayling also said there were no legal grounds to prevent Stagecoach from bidding for current or future franchises. | Mr Grayling also said there were no legal grounds to prevent Stagecoach from bidding for current or future franchises. |
And he announced that Virgin and Stagecoach had won an extension to operate the West Coast Mainline rail franchise. | And he announced that Virgin and Stagecoach had won an extension to operate the West Coast Mainline rail franchise. |
Virgin and Stagecoach will now operate the London to Glasgow service from 1 April 2018 until potentially 31 March 2020. | Virgin and Stagecoach will now operate the London to Glasgow service from 1 April 2018 until potentially 31 March 2020. |