Railways: East Coast Main Line

Lord Beith Excerpts

Tuesday 13th March 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Beith]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they propose for the continuation of train services on the East Coast mainline.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Baroness Sugg) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are currently reviewing two options for the continuation of services on the east coast. Our priority is the continued running of the line for passengers. The first option is to allow Stagecoach to continue operating the service under a very strictly designed short-term contract. The second is for the franchise to be directly operated by the Department for Transport through an operator of last resort. We will choose the best option that protects the interests of passengers and offers value for money.

[Lord Beith (LD)]

My Lords, the fact that we are on the third failed franchise is down to incompetent franchising, fanciful overbidding by operating companies and a failure of the publicly owned Network Rail to deliver the track and overhead improvements on which the bids were based. What is the plan now? Are there only two options or more than that—a rerun franchise competition, a new type of franchise combining track and train operation, a nationalised operator or a sweetheart deal for Stagecoach/Virgin to run the trains without taking the risks? When will we know?

[Baroness Sugg]

My Lords, we expect to make an announcement on the two options in the coming months. From 2020 there will be a new east coast partnership as part of our reform of track and train to ensure that they work together better to deliver the services that passengers need.