THE Government has come under pressure to change how rail franchises operate after the outgoing franchise model was partly blamed for the failure of National Express East Coast’s (NXEC) licensing of the East Coast Mainline.

Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce is lobbying the government following a meeting at York Business Forum featuring guest speakers from NXEC.

Concerns were raised that the current franchise model put NXEC at a disadvantage to deal with the recession that struck the comp......for the full story register now for free or login below...