Comment: David Parkin on the East Coast rail shambles

IT appears that Yorkshire business has breathed a sigh of relief following news that the Government has taken the East Coast rail franchise off National Express.

Unfortunately it will be quickly replaced by a sharp intake of breath as we all wonder how long it will remain nationalised until another operator tries their hand at making a go of the very popular but deeply troubled route that links London, Yorkshire and Scotland.

Our readers appear to all agree that they are glad to see the back of National Express, if you read the comments on yesterday’s lead story on TheBusinessDesk.com.

Previous operator GNER, run by the effective and charming Christopher Garnett, had built up huge goodwill with their standard of service but just couldn’t afford the crippling franchise payments to the Government.

Transport group National Express, led by Richard Bowker, stepped in with a swagger to replace GNER and signed up to pay the Goverment £1.4bn from 2007 to 2015 for running the route.

But yesterday they gave it up as a bad job and handed back the train set to the Government. Mr Bowker – who I have never met but always appeared terribly full of himself – has cleared off to the Middle East to run a train company there.

There is plenty to ponder.

What struck me first was the bold pronouncement by Transport Secretary Lord Adonis.

He said: “The government is not prepared to renegotiate rail franchises, because I’m simply not prepared to bail out companies that are unable to meet their commitments.”

It’s a good thing for Britain’s banking system that Chancellor Alistair Darling didn’t do the same.

National Express made a poor job of running the East Coast Main Line. High fares, dirty trains, blocked toilets, below par catering facilities and Wi-Fi connections that were often non-existent made it the bane of many business travellers’ lives.

I’ve not yet met a business person who doesn’t have a horror story about a train trip to London or Scotland on the route from Yorkshire.

But can we hope that it will be run better in public ownership?

You dearly hope so. What worries me more is who will take over the route in the long-term.

A big transport player like National Express failed to make it work so perhaps something more regional might. Certainly some kind of renegotiation of the franchise payment will have to take place.

What about a performance-related deal? Surely given the Goverment’s experience in bailing out the banks, they will be willing to look at a new model.

Let’s hope the apparent arrogance of Lord Adonis is tempered by reality when he comes to look at potential offers.

And let’s hope that some real entrepreneurial flair can be brought back to the operation of this crucial UK rail route.

I’m sure Christopher Garnett would be able to offer some useful advice.