83-839: Virgin Trains East Coast ( VTEC ) (legal name East Coast Main Line Company Limited ) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London , Yorkshire , the North East and Scotland . It commenced operations on 1 March 2015, taking over from East Coast as a joint venture between Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin Group (10%). It
166-639: A 100% FirstGroup subsidiary when the 24.5% shareholder bought out its partners. The TOCs were renamed First Great Western and First North Western . Go-Ahead Group bought the remaining 35% share in Thames Trains . Virgin Group sold a 49% share in Virgin Rail Group that operated the CrossCountry and West Coast franchises to Stagecoach . The completion of the rail link to Heathrow Airport led to Heathrow Express , an open-access operator outside
249-554: A company wholly owned by the Strategic Rail Authority , which would operate the franchise until it could be tendered again. New franchise holders Arriva Trains Wales and Merseyrail began operating. FirstGroup purchased GB Railways which owned the Anglia Railways and Hull Trains businesses. A policy where the majority of services (both long-distance and commuter) from each London terminal would all be operated by
332-529: A day. LNER expected to introduce two-hourly services to Bradford and a daily service to Huddersfield by May 2020 when more Azuma trains had been introduced, however the latter has not yet been introduced. During September 2018, a proposed service to Middlesbrough was announced, though the Rail Minister, Jo Johnson , informed Parliament that this proposal was dependent on the Azumas being brought into service on
415-455: A government-owned operator of last resort , due either to failing expectations or to events on the rail system as a whole. The term is also sometimes used to describe companies operating passenger or freight rail services over tracks owned by another company or a national network owner. Franchises were initially let by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF). This was in turn replaced by
498-486: A mistake in their bid calculations, while admitting that the tender process encouraged over-bidding. Critics of the early termination described it as yet another government bailout of a private company in the failed privatised railway system, although this was only based on the fact the government would lose the more than £2 billion in future franchise payments due to the government over the last four years of its contract. Analysts claimed that since both parties shared blame for
581-485: A number of Azuma sets having to be taken temporarily out of service for inspections and repairs where appropriate. During June 2022, LNER unveiled its new livery, based on the traditional British Rail -era Intercity styling, on one of its remaining InterCity 225 sets. In November 2023, LNER announced an order of 10 tri-mode multiple units from CAF to serve the ECML, including an 8-year maintenance agreement. The contract
664-635: A number of weekday services to Newcastle were extended to Edinburgh meaning there was almost a complete half hourly service between the two cities. From December 2016, Morpeth benefited from additional stops provided by the operator to improve connections to Edinburgh and London. Following the December 2017 timetable change, VTEC introduced 24 new Saturday services, increasing the number of Saturday services to 151, only six fewer than weekdays. A weekday service from York at 4:40 am arriving in London for 7 am
747-622: A temporary government controlled operator of last resort, would take over the operation of the line from 24 June 2018, thus ending VTEC's contract. Virgin Trains East Coast took over all of the services operated by East Coast. It categorised its weekday services from London King's Cross into four routes: Virgin Trains East Coast operated a number of named passenger trains, including: Virgin Trains East Coast introduced once per day services to Stirling and Sunderland via Newcastle on 14 December 2015, along with one extra service each weekday evening between Hull and Doncaster via Selby. In May 2016,
830-487: A tendering system, to operate services on certain routes for a specified duration, while a small number of open-access operators hold licences to provide supplementary services on chosen routes. These operators can run services for the duration of the licence validity. The franchised operators have changed considerably since privatisation: previous franchises have been divided, merged, re-let to new operators, or renamed. Some privately-operated franchises have been taken over by
913-621: A video was released of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in which he said he was forced to sit on the floor on a VTEC train to Newcastle because the train was "ram-packed". At the time, Corbyn said "Is it fair that I should upgrade my ticket whilst others who might not be able to afford such a luxury should have to sit on the floor? It's their money I would be spending after all.” However, Virgin Trains later released edited CCTV footage which they claimed showed Corbyn walking past empty seats in Coach H, filming
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#1732852275759996-417: Is in addition to the sole one train per day service, which in all, now provides five out and back workings to and from London King's Cross. LNER also planned for the December 2019 timetable change that a sixth return service to London from Lincoln would be introduced and five extra services on a Saturday would begin from 7 December 2019. From December 2019, LNER introduced a Harrogate to London service six times
1079-495: Is valued at over €500 million and is financed by rolling stock company, Porterbrook . The trains will be able to run on 25kV 50 Hz electrification, battery and diesel power. In August 2024 it was announced that the trains would be called Class 897 under the TOPS classification system. In November 2023, LNER placed an order for 10 ten-car tri-mode (electric, diesel and battery power) Civity trains from CAF . In August 2024, it
1162-511: The COVID-19 pandemic . From 15 June 2020, both passengers and staff on public transport in England, including LNER services, were required to wear face coverings while travelling, and that anyone failing to do so would be liable to be refused travel or fined. LNER is one of several train operators impacted by the 2022-2024 United Kingdom railway strikes , which are the first national rail strikes in
1245-792: The Greater Anglia franchise on 5 February 2012. In September 2012, FirstGroup was awarded the right to operate the West Coast franchise which provoked a backlash from incumbent Virgin Trains West Coast. As a result of the Department for Transport having provided incorrect information during the bid process, the offer was withdrawn in October 2012 and £40 million of bid costs refunded. In September 2014, Govia Thameslink Railway took over services formerly operated by First Capital Connect as part of
1328-597: The Hitachi A-train platform, entered service, followed by the very similar Class 801 electric multiple units during September of that year. Branded by LNER as the Azuma , their introduction has permitted the InterCity 125 sets to be withdrawn from service entirely, along with most of the InterCity 225s. A limited number of InterCity 225 sets have been retained and continue to be regularly operated by LNER. During November 2017,
1411-526: The InterCity East Coast franchise, after the previous privately owned operator Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) returned it to the government following sustained financial difficulties. The DfT intended for the company to operate the franchise until a new public–private partnership could be established during 2020. However, in July 2019, it was announced that LNER had been given a direct-award to run these services beyond 28 June 2020, up until 25 June 2023, making it
1494-564: The InterCity East Coast franchise. London North Eastern Railway London North Eastern Railway ( LNER ) is a British train operating company . It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT). The company's name echoes that of the London and North Eastern Railway , one of the Big Four companies which operated between 1923 and 1948. During June 2018, LNER took over
1577-650: The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive lets the Merseyrail franchise, while in London, Transport for London (TfL) oversees the new London Overground and Elizabeth line concessions. ( London Underground , a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London , operates trains nearly all on its own network serving mostly its own stations: It is not a Train Operating Company by the definition here.) The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) (formerly
1660-935: The Metro buses in Belfast and Ulsterbus coaches around the country. NIR is not a TOC under the terms of the Railways Act 1993 , which only applies to Great Britain. The cross-border service Enterprise (Belfast–Dublin) is jointly operated with Iarnród Éireann , the publicly owned national railway company of the Republic of Ireland. Upon privatisation in 1994, the three passenger-operating sectors of British Rail ( InterCity , Network SouthEast and Regional Railways ) were divided, and their existing operations were let as 25 franchises: The privatisation process began when BR's passenger sectors were divided into 25 train operating units which were gradually incorporated as publicly owned subsidiaries of
1743-698: The North East Regional franchise and the North West Regional franchise . In 2004, these were altered into the TransPennine franchise, for intercity services, and the Northern franchise, for local services that were awarded to First TransPennine Express and Northern Rail respectively. Some North West services were transferred to the Arriva Trains Wales franchise. In the same year, Thames Trains
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#17328522757591826-574: The Strategic Rail Authority , which has since been abolished. For England, franchising is now the responsibility of the Department for Transport in the majority of cases. In Scotland, it is the responsibility of Transport Scotland . In Wales, since 2017, the responsibility for the specification and procurement of the Wales & Borders franchise belongs to Transport for Wales . In two parts of England, local government agencies are responsible: in Merseyside ,
1909-498: The Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise and branded them as Thameslink and Great Northern. Services operated by Southern , another Govia subsidiary, were merged into the new franchise in the following year. Hull Trains became a 100% subsidiary of FirstGroup when the 80% shareholder bought out its partners. In March 2015, a Stagecoach and Virgin joint venture trading as Virgin Trains East Coast commenced operating
1992-602: The Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise expires in 2021 as part of the overall strategy for the East Coast franchise. The setting up of LNER is the second occasion that a government-appointed operator of last resort has taken control of the InterCity East Coast franchise; between 2009 and 2015, the franchise had been operated by East Coast . It had taken over operations from National Express East Coast after that operator had defaulted on franchise payments to
2075-635: The Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced that the franchise would be terminated three years early in 2020, and in its place would be the East Coast Partnership (ECP), the first of a new type of franchising arrangement, a long term regional public-private partnership where the private entity takes more control over the Network Rail infrastructure, under a "unified brand". The House of Commons Transport Committee described
2158-751: The passenger transport executive or other civic body responsible for administering public transport. One of these bodies, the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel) is responsible for one of three National Rail franchises not awarded by central government, namely the Merseyrail franchise, while certain National Rail services in North London came under the control of TfL in November 2007 as London Overground. Two other franchises,
2241-608: The Association of Train Operating Companies) provides a commonality for the TOCs and provides some centralised co-ordination. Its activities include the provision of a national timetable and online journey planner facility, and the operation of the various Railcard discount schemes. Eurostar is also a member of the RDG, though it is not itself a TOC. For historical and geographical reasons
2324-548: The British Railways Board. They acted as shadow franchises prior to being put to tender: The opening of the Channel Tunnel saw operations by Eurostar begin from London Waterloo to Paris and Brussels . The franchising process was implemented, with various private companies taking over the shadow franchises. Three were awarded to management buyouts . The Great Western Holdings ' management also were awarded
2407-711: The CCTV footage later claimed to show that the unreserved seats in some of the images were occupied and that other passengers also sat in the vestibules. Due to concerns over the planned introduction of driver-only operation by VTEC, in addition to nearly 200 planned compulsory redundancies and staff pay concerns, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) announced that three 24-hour strikes would be held by all workers (except depot maintenance workers) at VTEC in August 2016; however, following negotiations between VTEC and
2490-495: The DfT Rail Group. Until 2005 this role was performed by the Strategic Rail Authority . The infrastructure of the railways in England, Scotland, and Wales – including tracks and signalling – is owned and operated not by the train companies but by Network Rail , which took over responsibility from Railtrack in 2002. Most passenger trains are owned by a small number of rolling stock companies (ROSCO) and are leased to
2573-711: The ECML, in addition to other schemes then in progress, that would provide sufficient capacity to enable the service to run. This service commenced on 13 December 2021. A 1tpd service to Cleethorpes as an extension of a Lincoln service is currently being explored. London North Eastern Railway operates a number of named passenger services. At its commencement, LNER operated a fleet of diesel-powered InterCity 125 and electric InterCity 225 high speed trains that it had inherited from VTEC. Since September 2016, VTEC had also hired three Class 90s from DB Cargo for use on services to Newark, York and Leeds. LNER inherited these locomotives and retained them until June 2019 to cover for
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2656-814: The East Coast Mainline timetable from the May 2022 timetable change, increasing the service between London and Newcastle to thrice hourly, and removing station stops on the current fast train to reduce journey times to 4 hours between London and Edinburgh, a feat currently only achieved once a day, by the Flying Scotsman from Edinburgh to London. This was later deferred to December 2024, and then further delayed until at least December 2025. LNER has consistently tried to implement fares reform on its routes. In 2023, return fares were abolished on most flows, with only singles being offered in each direction. This also coincided with
2739-535: The East Coast franchise. In April 2008, Wrexham & Shropshire began operating open access services between Wrexham and London Marylebone . In June 2008, the Gatwick Express franchise was integrated with the South Central franchise operated by Southern . The government announced that National Express East Coast would have its franchise to operate intercity services along the ECML terminated, and that
2822-571: The InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 fleets to be replaced gradually. On 15 May, the first Azuma train to enter service, a nine-carriage Class 800/1, was operated on the Leeds route from King's Cross. Other subclasses of the Class 800 and 801 variants entered service afterwards; the first two five-carriage Class 801/1 sets entered service on 16 September, operating as a ten-carriage train; the first lot of five-carriage Class 800/2 sets entered service to coincide with
2905-569: The North West Regional Railways franchise. The remainder were divided between a handful of major transport operators: In Northern Ireland, NIR stopped using its own branding on the Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin when it purchased new rolling stock in conjunction with IÉ, instead launching Enterprise as a separate brand name. Great Western Holdings , which operated Great Western Trains and North West Trains, became
2988-453: The RMT, these were all eventually cancelled. A further breakdown in negotiations between the RMT and VTEC resulted in the union calling for further industrial action, which took place for 24 hours on 3 October 2016. Further strikes were subsequently called, for 48 hours on 28–29 April 2017; however, this was again cancelled before it could take place following "progress" in talks between the union and
3071-566: The Scottish national franchise, currently operated by ScotRail , and the Welsh domestic franchise, operated by Transport for Wales , are awarded by the devolved governments of the two constituent nations. The Rail Delivery Group is the coordinating body of the train operating companies in Great Britain and owns the National Rail brand, which uses the former British Rail double-arrow logo and organises
3154-449: The UK for three decades. Its workers are amongst those who have voted in favour of taking industrial action due to a dispute over pay and working conditions. LNER appealed to the public not to use its services on the days of the strikes, as it was only capable of operating a minimal timetable on those dates because of the number of its staff involved. In 2021, the company attempted to recast
3237-501: The cheapest but least flexible ticket, the 70 minute flex, and the anytime fare, the only fare guaranteed to be available. In September 2024, after well published loopholes being found to this trial, the trial was expanded to every station between Newcastle and Edinburgh. As of June 2024 , the off-peak weekday service pattern is as follows. An expanded service to Lincoln began on 21 October 2019, when four terminating services at Newark Northgate were extended into Lincoln. This
3320-463: The common ticketing structure. Many of the train operating companies are in fact parts of larger companies which operate multiple franchises. The railway network in Northern Ireland is managed differently from the rest of the UK. The sole company in Northern Ireland that operates trains is NI Railways , who are a subsidiary of Translink , the publicly owned transport corporation, which also runs
3403-471: The eight-year franchise was awarded to the Stagecoach/Virgin joint venture and commenced operating on 1 March 2015 trading as Virgin Trains East Coast. On 28 June 2017, Stagecoach announced passenger revenues on the East Coast line were below expectations, meaning the company had registered a loss of around £200m to date, due to the profits that were being registered being lower than the payments due to
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3486-520: The final four years of its contract. In February 2018, the end date of the VTEC franchise was brought forward to mid-2018; the Department for Transport (DfT) had decided to either negotiate with VTEC for it to continue running the franchise on a temporary non-profit basis while a new franchise competition was conducted, or to arrange for VTEC be taken over by the DfT's operator of last resort . On 16 May 2018, it
3569-514: The franchise would pass into the hands of public-sector company, Directly Operated Railways , which acted as the parent for East Coast . Grand Central open-access services from London to Bradford began on 23 May 2010. DB Regio's operations in the UK were integrated into those of Arriva following the acquisition of the latter by Deutsche Bahn in the previous year. Owing to continuing losses, Wrexham & Shropshire ceased operating on 28 January 2011. Abellio Greater Anglia began operating
3652-459: The franchise, and all train sets had received the full red and white VTEC livery by November 2015. Attention then turned to the interiors, with toilets to be refreshed and seat covers and carpets replaced. The first refurbished set entered service on 31 December 2015. All of the HST sets were refurbished by August 2016, and all of the InterCity 225 sets by January 2017. In July 2015, an additional HST set
3735-401: The franchising system, beginning its services from London Paddington to Heathrow with operating rights until 2023. The shareholdings of M40 Trains were restructured with John Laing owning 84% of the company with the remaining 16% held by former BR managers. MTL which operated Merseyrail Electrics and Northern Spirit and Prism Rail that operated c2c (renamed from LTS Rail earlier in
3818-424: The government for the right to operate the franchise. As a result, Stagecoach were attempting to renegotiate the terms, a process that was being delayed by the intervening general election. They made a loss when trades were down 11% due to loss on the East Coast service. The RMT called for renationalisation of the franchise, although Stagecoach was confident it could make a profit within two years. In November 2017,
3901-459: The government than its predecessor East Coast did, but failed comprehensively, immediately reducing premium payments and eventually giving up its £3.3 billion franchise. In the first full year of operation, the company repaid only £204 million of the premium, shortly before defaulting on the franchise. This compares unfavorably to the £235 million paid over the previous year by the publicly operated East Coast franchise. In August 2016,
3984-632: The government, and thus had its franchise taken away. East Coast had been the prior operator to VTEC being selected to take over the franchise. A major aspect of LNER's vision for the franchise has been the rollout of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). David Horne, LNER's managing director, stated that digital signalling is necessary to unlock the full capabilities of its rolling stock, enabling drivers to continuously receive information in real time, yielding improvements in responsiveness, safety, and reliability over
4067-567: The individual TOCs. However, a handful of TOCs own and maintain some of their own rolling stock. Train operating companies also operate most of the network's stations , in their role as station facility owners (SFO), in which they lease the buildings and associated land from Network Rail. Network Rail manages some major railway stations and several stations are operated by London Underground or other companies. Most passenger TOCs in Great Britain are privately owned. The majority of these hold franchises to operate rail services on specific parts of
4150-411: The launch of the new King's Cross - Lincoln services on 21 October while the first two nine-carriage Class 801/2 sets entered service on 18 November. By May 2021, all units in the Azuma fleet had entered revenue service following unit 800109's return to service, which was the unit involved in the derailment at Neville Hill TMD in November 2019 and subsequently had to undergo repairs. Following
4233-464: The longest franchise on the East Coast Main Line since Great North Eastern Railway (GNER). Early on, the integration of Great Northern services into LNER's operation after the expiration of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise in 2021 was being actively considered as well. LNER provides long-distance inter-city services on the East Coast Main Line to and from London ;
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#17328522757594316-501: The losses, an early termination was mutually desirable. Both Stagecoach and the Secretary of State anticipated all contractual payments due would be fulfilled up to the termination date, and since the Secretary had been advised there had been no malpractice or malicious intent on their part, Stagecoach and Virgin would be free to bid for future franchises, including the ECP. In February 2018, with
4399-594: The name Wales & Borders . The remainder of Wales & West's services in the west of England were renamed Wessex Trains . John Laing bought out its partners in M40 Trains. Connex , having already lost the South Central franchise in 2001, was removed as franchisee of the South Eastern franchise in 2003 on the grounds of poor financial management. It was replaced as the franchise holder by South Eastern Trains ,
4482-541: The new trains and branded them as Azuma , after the native Japanese term for "east". In October 2017, it was revealed that the fleet would enter service from December 2018, but the early termination of the franchise in June 2018 meant that they were not used in service under VTEC. The trains were finally introduced in May 2019 under London North Eastern Railway, retaining the Azuma branding. Virgin Trains East Coast had four main depots: The public performance measure (PPM) shows
4565-403: The next permanent arrangement, to begin in 2020, would feature closer co-operation between the private sector and Network Rail , the state-owned operator of the infrastructure. In January 2014, FirstGroup , Keolis / Eurostar and Stagecoach / Virgin were announced by the Department for Transport (DfT) as the shortlisted bidders for the new InterCity East Coast franchise. In November 2014,
4648-404: The operation itself was profitable, VTEC placed part of the blame for the under-performance with respect to their franchise bid on their belief that the government had failed to deliver expected upgrades or new trains, while the government claimed VTEC had simply overbid. Given it was the third instance of the East Coast franchise needing to be terminated early for financial reasons, it was announced
4731-422: The operator. Train operating company In the railway system of Great Britain , a train operating company ( TOC ) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993 . There are two types of TOC: most hold franchises let by the Department for Transport (DfT) through
4814-432: The partnership approach in 2018 as "experimental" and in need of a proper feasibility assessment . Stagecoach claimed that the failure of Network Rail to implement expected infrastructure improvements, and delays to the government-controlled purchase of the fleet of Azuma trains, were partly responsible for the expected growth in passenger revenue failing to materialise. Grayling however claimed that Stagecoach had simply made
4897-420: The percentage of trains which arrive at their terminating station on time. It combines figures for punctuality and reliability into a single performance measure. The most recent figure (in the four weeks from 13 December 2015 – 9 January 2016) for Virgin Trains East Coast's PPM was 82.0%. The moving annual average PPM was 86.9%. During the tender process, Virgin Trains East Coast promised to pay higher premiums to
4980-409: The principal destinations served are Leeds , York , Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh . It directly manages 11 stations, while its trains call at 55 stations in total. LNER's initial rolling stock consisted of a fleet of InterCity 125 and InterCity 225 high speed trains that it had inherited from VTEC. During May 2019, the first batch of Class 800 bi-mode high speed multiple units , based on
5063-404: The purview of National Rail, which operate specific services which are recent additions to Britain's railways. The main examples are Eurostar, which operates to continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel , and Heathrow Express , which runs fast services from London to Heathrow Airport . A number of metropolitan railways on the network are operated by the local franchise holder in conjunction with
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#17328522757595146-716: The railway and come under the auspices of the National Rail brand. In addition, companies are able to bid for "paths" (specific parts of the overall National Rail timetable) to operate their own services, which the franchises do not operate – these operators are classed as open-access operators and are not franchise holders. Currently in Great Britain, there are three open-access operators: Hull Trains , which runs services between London King's Cross and Hull , Grand Central , which operates between King's Cross and Sunderland and between King's Cross and Bradford , and Lumo , which operates between King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley . In addition, there are operators that fall outside
5229-594: The railway network of the United Kingdom is split into two independent systems: one in Great Britain (including the Isle of Wight ), and one in Northern Ireland, which is closely linked to the railway system of the Republic of Ireland. In Great Britain, passenger train services are operated by a number of companies, referred to as Train Operating Companies or TOCs, normally on the basis of regional franchises awarded by
5312-504: The removal of the off-peak fare for flows to and from Kings Cross. In January 2024, LNER announced a simpler fares trial for Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh to London Kings Cross, scrapping the super off-peak fares, the regulated fare and a de facto cap on ticket prices, and replacing it with a 70-minute flex, a yield managed advance fare which allows customers to catch a train 70 minutes before or after their train. This left three fare tiers on these flows, with advance tickets being
5395-501: The routes operated by Silverlink in London, which were combined with the extended East London line in 2011. Services are controlled directly by TfL, with running of the trains themselves contracted to a private company as an operating concession. This is different from an ordinary franchise, as the train operator is not given control of the strategic aspects of the operation, such as pricing, timetabling and rolling stock procurement. In December 2007, National Express East Coast took over
5478-476: The running of the InterCity East Coast franchise from GNER . Grand Central also began operating its services between London and Sunderland as an open access operator. In January 2008, Laing Rail which owned M40 Trains and a 50% shareholding in London Overground Rail Operations was sold to Deutsche Bahn , becoming part of the DB Regio Group. In February 2008, One was re-branded by National Express as National Express East Anglia to bring it into line with
5561-401: The same franchise was partially enacted. In April 2004, One commenced operating the Greater Anglia franchise that combined the Anglia Railways and First Great Eastern franchises with the West Anglia Great Northern services radiating out from Liverpool Street . The remainder continuing to be operated as WAGN . In the North of England, prior to 2004 there were two regional franchises,
5644-410: The shortage of Class 91 locomotives. During May 2019, the first batch of Class 800 new-build high speed trains began entering service, the very similar Class 801 trains also followed in September of that year. These units are based on the Hitachi A-train design and LNER retained the Azuma brand for the units which was originally designated by VTEC. The initial operation of these units allowed
5727-400: The situation now seen as more urgent, the date for the end of VTEC's contract was brought forwards to "a small number of months", with the Secretary considering replacing it with either a short term not for profit arrangement with VTEC, or renationalisation under an operator of last resort, until the ECP could begin in 2020. On 16 May 2018 it was announced that the London North Eastern Railway ,
5810-410: The south-east of England, were replaced as the operator of the Network SouthCentral franchise by Govia , who began operating it under the name South Central . Also in 2001, a new franchise, the Wales & Borders franchise was created by the amalgamation of Valley Lines and the majority of services in Wales and the Borders held by Wales & West . The new franchise was initially operated under
5893-399: The then Secretary of State for Transport , Chris Grayling , announced the early termination of the InterCity East Coast franchise in 2020, three years ahead of schedule; this action had followed persistent losses incurred by Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC), the operator of the route. VTEC had been contracted to pay more than £2 billion in franchise premiums to the British government across
5976-482: The time frame up to 2024. These retained units have been subject to an overhaul performed at Wabtec 's Doncaster plant. At the end of service on 15 January 2021, the remaining serviceable InterCity 225 sets went into storage temporarily as part of the East Coast Upgrade. Originally, the plan was to return the sets to service for 7 June 2021, however, the first set actually re-entered service on 11 May 2021 due to
6059-466: The traditional lineside signalling. The company has worked with Network Rail , the British government, and the trade unions on this endeavour, and has been heavily involved in the planning and preparatory works; it has also undertaken the training of its staff in readiness for its use. By mid-2020, LNER had considerably curtailed its services in response to the significant decline of passenger travel amid
6142-413: The video and then walking back to Coach H to sit for the rest of the journey. Corbyn said about the incident "Yes, I did walk through the train. Yes, I did look for two empty seats together so I could sit down with my wife, to talk to her. That wasn't possible so I went to the end of the train." Analysis by a media outlet supporting the re-election bid of Jeremy Corbyn in the then-Labour leadership contest of
6225-517: The withdrawal of the InterCity 125 fleet in December 2019, it was previously thought that the InterCity 225 fleet would be fully withdrawn by June 2020. However, on 29 January 2020, LNER announced that they would be retaining a limited number of the InterCity 225 fleet to deliver all of the benefits of their December 2021 timetable. In September 2020, Eversholt Rail Group (the train owner ) and London North Eastern Railway extended their lease to ten units by 2023; additionally, there are options to extend
6308-505: The year), Valley Lines Trains , Wales & West , and West Anglia Great Northern were purchased by Arriva and National Express respectively, resulting in the latter owning nine franchises. The two companies transferred to Arriva were renamed Arriva Trains Merseyside and Arriva Trains Northern. The first open access operator using the National Rail brand, Hull Trains , commenced running its services between King's Cross and Hull . In 2001, Connex , which had operated two franchises in
6391-402: Was also introduced. Virgin Trains East Coast inherited the rolling stock operated by East Coast , comprising InterCity 125 High Speed Train sets made up of Class 43 power cars and Mark 3 carriages , and InterCity 225 sets made up of Class 91 electric locomotives and Mark 4 carriages and Driving Van Trailers . Most driving vehicles received a Virgin logo within the first three days of
6474-402: Was announced that the latter option was now being pursued and as such, LNER would take over operations from VTEC on 24 June 2018. The DfT also announced that LNER would be the long-term brand applied to the InterCity East Coast franchise. During a speech in May 2018, the Secretary of State for Transport stated that Great Northern services could potentially be integrated into the operation when
6557-449: Was announced that the units will be designated Class 897 under TOPS. The entry into service of the Azuma fleet allowed all fourteen of LNER's HST sets to be withdrawn from service, with the last three sets working their final services with LNER on 15 December 2019. Nine of the sets transferred to East Midlands Railway , with two power cars from one set transferring to CrossCountry to supplement its existing five sets. LNER's fleet
6640-405: Was originally intended to run until 2023 and return £3.3 billion to the government in the form of franchise premiums, but, due to the line performing below VTEC's expectations, it was announced in May 2018 that the contract would be terminated early by the government; VTEC ceased operating on 23 June 2018, when operations passed to the government-owned operator, London North Eastern Railway . While
6723-536: Was superseded by First Great Western Link and ScotRail (National Express) by First ScotRail . A new operator, Heathrow Connect , jointly run by BAA and First Great Western , began operating stopping services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport complementing the Heathrow Express. Three new integrated franchises began operating in April 2006: Further integrations occurred in 2007. The first of these
6806-612: Was the South Western franchise ; this merged the original South West Trains franchise with the Island Line Trains franchise on the Isle of Wight and began operating in February 2007 under the name South West Trains, with Island Line retained as a separate brand. In November 2007, three new integrated franchises began operating: In addition to these three, a further new operator, London Overground Rail Operations , took control of
6889-487: Was transferred from East Midlands Trains . Although Virgin Trains East Coast had no plans of its own to introduce new rolling stock, 10 five-car and 13 nine-car Class 800 bi-mode trains and 12 five-car and 30 nine-car Class 801 EMUs were due to be introduced during VTEC's franchise term as part of the DfT-led Intercity Express Programme . On 16 March 2016, VTEC officially unveiled the first of
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