The government yesterday confirmed a shortlist of bidders to re-privatise the East Coast Mainline.
All three bidders that had signalled their interest in the important Aberdeen to London train route were confirmed: Aberdeen’s First Group; a joint venture between Sir Brian Souter’s Stagecoach and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains; and a tie-up with train operators Keolis and Eurostar, both owned by the French state.
But the announcement riled unions and other groups have been campaigning for months to halt re-privatisation of the franchise, which has been publicly-run since 2009.
Rail Minister Stephen Hammond said: “For our railways to continue to grow we need strong private sector partners who can invest and innovate in ways that deliver a world class service.”
Vernon Barker, FirstGroup’s managing director of UK Rail, said: “We have extensive experience of intercity services and have a strong track record in delivering passenger growth as well as capacity and infrastructure upgrades on the long distance franchises we run.
“We look forward to reviewing the contract details and submitting an innovative, compelling, and value-for-money bid which meets the needs of taxpayers as well as customers and businesses along the East Coast route.”
Keolis UK runs the London Midland, Southeastern and Southern rail franchises through Govia, its tie-in with GoAhead Group. Its chief executive Alistair Gordon, said: “We are pleased to be shortlisted for one the most important rail franchises in the country and we see this as a testament to the strength of Keolis’ and Eurostar’s credentials.”
Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Martin Griffiths said: “Stagecoach and our partners Virgin have played a leading role in transforming rail travel in Britain over the past two decades.”
The three shortlisted bids are First Group’s East Coast Trains; Keolis/Eurostar East Coast and Stagecoach and Virgin’s Inter City Railways. The franchise is expected to run for a period of around eight to nine years, with the provision for an extension of up to two years at the discretion of the DfT. An announcement about the successful bidder is expected in autumn 2014, with the contract expected to start in February 2015.
But Manuel Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association rail union, said the sell-off was “nothing short of economic vandalism”.
“It has been the cheapest franchise to run for the past five years and it has produced the greatest return to taxpayers, over £600million,” he added.