The first Intercity 225 in full Virgin East Coast livery pulled into King’s Cross station on March 2 to kickoff the start of the new eight-year franchise.
The event, which included addresses from managing director David Horne and rail minister Claire Perry, marked the formal launch of the new East Coast franchise.
Horne said that £140 million will be invested into improving services throughout the life of the franchise, including a £21 million modernisation of the current fleet which is set to begin immediately ahead of the arrival of new Hitachi stock in 2018.
Prior to the start of the new franchise, East Coast services have been operated by the government’s Directly Operated Railways, following the withdrawal of National Express in 2009. Over that period the public sector body paid back £1 billion in premium payments.
Virgin East Coast believes it can repay £3.3 billion over the course of its contract.
The Stagecoach/Virgin joint venture will also introduce 23 new services out of King’s Cross station, including direct services to Sunderland and Stirling within the first year of the franchise. The additional offering will increase the number services operated under the franchise from 77 to 100.
I saw a promise to cut ‘Anytime’ fares (the ones which almost no-one would pay from their own pockets), which I presume to mean that Advance and Off-Peak will head north as quick as the trains.
What if Virgin Trains East Coast started operating new services from London King’s Cross to Lincoln, Grimsby, Skegness, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Aberdeen and Scarborough taking with Grand Central losing the King’s Cross-Sunderland service to VTEC. With Hull Trains still operating their current King’s Cross-Hull service.