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East Coast train line to be put into public control | East Coast train line to be put into public control |
(35 minutes later) | |
Rail services on East Coast Main Line are being brought back under UK government control. | |
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told parliament that taking control would provide the smoothest transition to a operation. | |
The loss-making service is being renamed London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). | |
It is the third time in a decade that the government has called a halt to the East Coast franchise. | It is the third time in a decade that the government has called a halt to the East Coast franchise. |
Mr Grayling told parliament that after two months of analysis he had concluded that taking back control would provide the smoothest possible transition to a new operation. | |
"I plan to use a period of Operator of Last Resort control to shape the new partnership," said Mr Grayling. | |
"The team that's been working for me since last autumn to form the Operator of Last Resort... and will take immediate control of passenger services. | |
"They will then begin the task of working with Network Rail to bring together the teams operating the track and trains on the LNER network." | |
Stagecoach, which has operated the franchise with Virgin Trains since 2015, said the companies had been negotiating a new contract with the Department for Transport. | |
But the company said it now understood that Mr Grayling was "no longer considering" Virgin and Stagecoach for the deal. | But the company said it now understood that Mr Grayling was "no longer considering" Virgin and Stagecoach for the deal. |
Mr Grayling told parliament that the firms operating the franchise "will have lost nearly £200m", but that this had not been a loss to taxpayers "at this time". | |