East Coast (Train Operating Company) - East Coast Formation - B

East Coast (Train Operating Company) - B

East Coast Formation

In July 2009, it was announced that National Express was intending to default on the franchise, having failed to renegotiate the contractual terms of operation, National Express stating that it would not be providing any further financial support necessary to ensure NXEC remained solvent. This meant NXEC would run out of cash by the end of 2009. As a consequence of this decision, the DfT announced it would establish a publicly owned company to take over the franchise from National Express.

The failure of the NXEC franchise sparked widespread calls amongst industry officials and members of the public for the InterCity East Coast franchise to be permanently placed into public ownership, or even the complete scrapping of the entire franchise system. In response, the Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis reiterated the findings of a 2008 National Audit Office (NAO) report which had concluded that the rail franchising system delivered good value for money and steadily improving services.

On 13 November 2009, NXEC relinquished its operation of the franchise, at which point the DfT took over through its newly formed subsidiary, East Coast.

East Coast Changes

According to Rail, East Coast's management strategy was typically adverse to initiating changes and that relatively little had changed across the organisation's operations during its eight years of running the franchise. Karen Boswell, the managing director of East Coast, disputed this observation and pointed to substantial investment in terms of both staff and assets since assuming control of the franchise in 2009, and also observed that the operation was financially sound and that East Coast had become one of Britain's most profitable train operating companies by 2015.

During May 2011, East Coast introduced a major new timetable known as "Eureka", changes included an extra three million seats per year, a decrease in general journey times and the adoption of a more regular service pattern. Within a few years of these changes, both train performance and punctuality figures had noticeably improved. Beyond the timetable changes, the Eureka programme was accompanied by various service changes, such as a nearly £10 million investment in staff training and to modernise its catering carriages, facilitating the introduction of complimentary catering for all First Class travellers.

Prior to October 2010, East Coast offered free Wi-Fi to passengers in both First and Standard Class coaches. From 5 October 2010, the operator introduced a charge of £4.99 per hour or £9.99 for 24 hours for only Standard Class passengers, a 15-minute free allowance was still provided. In 2011, East Coast announced an investment of £600,000 for upgrading Wi-Fi equipment across its fleet, these new uplinks used a combination of satellites and lineside 3G/HSPA masts.

On 28 February 2015, the final operating day of East Coast, Virgin branding and public relations material begun to be deployed at various stations. Furthermore, East Coast's website, Twitter and Facebook pages were updated overnight to reflect Virgin's branding. That same day, multiple coordinated anti-privatisation protests were held in several cities, including Edinburgh, Doncaster and London, which were organised by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). On 1 March 2015, Virgin Trains East Coast assumed operations.

East Coast (Train Operating Company) Overview

East Coast Franchise(s): InterCity East Coast

14 November 2009 – 28 February 2015

East Coast Main Region(s): Greater London

East of England

East Midlands

Yorkshire and the Humber

North East England

Scotland

East Coast Fleet Size: 31 Class 91 electric locomotives

30 InterCity 225 sets

14 InterCity 125 (HST) sets

East Coast Stations Called At: 53

East Coast Stations Operated: 12

East Coast Parent Company: Directly Operated Railways

East Coast Reporting Mark: GR

East Coast Predecessor: National Express East Coast

East Coast Successor: Virgin Trains East Coast

East Coast Route Map

Inverness

Carrbridge

Aviemore

Kingussie

Newtonmore

Blair Atholl

Pitlochry

Dunkeld & Birnam

Perth

Gleneagles

Dunblane

Stirling

Falkirk

Aberdeen

Stonehaven

Montrose

Arbroath

Dundee

Leuchars

Kirkcaldy

Inverkeithing

Glasgow Central

Motherwell

Haymarket

Edinburgh Waverley

Dunbar

Reston

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Alnmouth

Morpeth

Newcastle

Durham

Darlington

Northallerton

York

Skipton

Keighley

Bradford Forster Square

Shipley

Harrogate

Horsforth

Leeds

Wakefield Westgate

Hull

Brough

Selby

Doncaster

Retford

Lincoln

Newark North Gate

Grantham

Peterborough

Stevenage

London King's Cross

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