BRITAIN’s East Coast franchise returned to government-owned operation on June 25 with the launch of London North Eastern Railway-branded (LNER) services following the failure of the eight-year Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) franchise jointly held by Stagecoach (90%) and Virgin (10%).
BRITAIN’s Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a tender for the East Midlands franchise, which will run from August 2019 until August 2027, and started consultation for the new Cross-Country franchise.