East Coast rail franchise could be scrapped this week, say reports

The East Coast rail franchise, which connects Yorkshire cities including Leeds, York and Wakefield with London Kings Cross, could be scrapped this week, according to reports in the national press.

The Financial Times reports that a statement is expected before Friday from Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, who three months ago said the existing franchise, shared between Virgin and Stagecoach, was unsustainable.

In February, Grayling said that Stagecoach had “got its numbers wrong” and that it would only continue to run the East Coast Mainline “for a small number of months”.

It will be the third time in under a decade that the government will have had to step in over the London to Edinburgh line.

The Financial Times says that Grayling will have the option of nationalising the line or working out a not-for-profit agreement with Virgin and Stagecoach.

Stagecoach owns 90% of the franchise, and Virgin 10%. Passenger numbers haven’t lived up to the operators’ expectations and the franchise is running at heavy losses. The FT says that Grayling is expected to announced a two-year deal, and then from 2020 a “public-private partnership model”.