National Express East Coast
Encyclopedia
National Express East Coast was a train operating company
in the United Kingdom
, running high speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line
between London
and Scotland
, as part of the East Coast passenger franchise. Under the privatised railway system in Great Britain
, the franchise was operated by NXEC Trains Limited, a subsidiary of National Express Group
, who operated the franchise in return for payments being made to the Department for Transport
.
National Express were awarded the right to operate the franchise in 2007 after the previous operator, Great North Eastern Railway
(GNER), were forced to give up the franchise by the government early in 2006, after financial difficulties. NXEC in-turn lost its franchise on 14 November 2009.
On 1 July 2009, after unsuccessfully attempting to re-negotiate the franchise terms, the National Express Group announced it would not provide further financial support to ensure it could continue operations for the full term of the franchise. In response, the government stated it would temporarily re-nationalise the franchise, handing over the assets of NXEC to a publicly owned company to continue the NXEC service levels, before an intention to re-tender the franchise in 2010. The handover to the new operator, East Coast
, took place at 23:59 on 13 November 2009.
NXEC operated long distance passenger services principally from London King's Cross to Edinburgh via Newcastle
, and from King's Cross to Leeds, with other services reaching into Yorkshire
and Scotland
.
The franchise dates back from the privatisation of British Rail
process, which in respect to passenger services on the East Coast Main Line, passed the responsibility for operating passenger services from the state owned InterCity
East Coast operating division to the private Great North Eastern Railway
(GNER) company, in April 1996.
GNER retained their franchise in 2005 on a 10 year basis, in return for a payment to the government of £1.3 billion, however, due to the financial difficulties of GNER's parent company Sea Containers, on 15 December 2006 the government announced it was removing the franchise from GNER and would put it up for re-tender, with the GNER operating contract transferred to a fixed fee management contract in the interim.
After the tendering process, the national transport operator National Express Group
was awarded the franchise on 14 August 2007. In winning the franchise, National Express had agreed to pay the Department of Transport
£1.4 billion for the right to run the service until 2015. At the time rail analysts had speculated that the Group had paid too much for the franchise. The operation of the new franchise passed to the National Express subsidiary NXEC on 9 December 2007.
Due to the revenue shortfall, National Express introduced a charge of £2.50 per leg for seat reservations in Standard Class. This fee was introduced on 17 May 2009 on both the East Coast and East Anglia services. Reservations in First Class are still provided at no extra charge.
In late April 2009, National Express confirmed that it was still pursuing talks with the government over possible financial assistance with the franchise, either through a reduction in the premium due, or other assistance. On 3 May it was reported that the company had reached an "outline agreement" to effectively cancel the franchise, transferring it to a management contract, whereby National Express would receive a fixed fee for running services on the line until it could be re-tendered in one or two years.
On 1 July 2009 it was announced that National Express planned to default on the franchise, having failed to renegotiate the contractual terms of operation, with National Express stating that as a parent Group it would not provide the further financial support necessary to ensure that the National Express East Coast subsidiary remained solvent. As a result, the Government stated it would establish a publicly owned company, which at a future date in an orderly handover, would take over the staff and assets necessary to run the franchise, and would continue all timetabled services. The government announced that this would be a short term measure, and the franchise would be put up for re-tender toward the end of 2010.
In prior negotiations, the Group had reportedly offered to pay "well over £100 million" in order to be released from its commitment to operate the franchise. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis had rejected this on a matter of principle. He stated: "The government is not prepared to renegotiate rail franchises, because I'm simply not prepared to bail out companies that are unable to meet their commitments". In defaulting on the franchise, under the franchising system, National Express Group only directly incurs losses of £72 million in bonds. It would also however, lose its pre-qualified status in the bidding for future franchises.
Additionally, the government stated it believed it had grounds to terminate National Express Group's other rail franchises, and would be exploring its options to do so. The franchise failure sparked public and industry calls for the permanent public ownership of the East Coast franchise, or even the complete scrapping of the entire franchise system. In response, Lord Adonis reiterated the findings of a 2008 National Audit Office
report, which had concluded that the rail franchising system delivered good value for money and steadily improving services.
The failure of NXEC was only the second instance of a UK rail franchise being re-nationalised. This previous occurrence was also a temporary arrangement, when the government owned South Eastern Trains
company, which took over the operations of Connex South Eastern
in 2003, was replaced by the private operator, Southeastern
.
Shortly before the loss of the franchise, National Express' rival FirstGroup had made a speculative takeover approach, however this was rejected. On announcing the defaulting on the franchise, it was also announced that the Group Chief Executive Richard Bowker
had resigned, to take up a position as chief executive of Union Railway in the United Arab Emirates.
National Express East Coast continued to operate services on the line until 14 November 2009, when a new company called East Coast
controlled by chief executive Elaine Holt took over its operations. The Transport Secretary Lord Adonis announced he expected the company to remain in public ownership for two years, rather than the 18 months that had previously been expected.
(LNER) company, before being nationalised into British Railways. The passenger services operated by the East Coast franchisee post 1996 have historically been a prestige part of the UK rail network, having once included the famous Flying Scotsman
passenger train, and latterly being part of the nationalised British Rail InterCity
network.
In off-peak times, there are three or four trains per hour to and from Kings Cross. The following details apply to weekday operations.
), with a two-hourly extension to Glasgow Central.
These trains generally ran as limited-stop expresses between London and Newcastle, all trains called at York, and most at Peterborough and Darlington, though afternoon and evening departures from Kings Cross ran non-stop to Doncaster or York. The trains leaving Kings Cross on the half hour generally terminated at Newcastle and served Stevenage, Grantham, Newark, Retford, Doncaster and Durham as well as Peterborough, York, and Darlington.
is not electrified.
and Inverness
are not electrified.
is not electrified.
and Keighley
to King's Cross with a 18:03 return. As is the case with the Bradford service, this is an extension of a Leeds – London service. Though the line to Skipton is electrified throughout, the National Express East Coast service to/from the town was operated using a HST because the electrical infrastructure on the Leeds to Skipton line is insufficient to support a Class 91 locomotive and the class 333 EMUs (Electric Multiple Units) that operate the local services from Leeds to Skipton
services to Harrogate. The Saturday running of this service was the only National Express East Coast southbound service from Leeds not to call at Wakefield Westgate. This service departed from Leeds and heads along the Selby line
to join the East Coast Main Line at Hambleton
.
between London Euston
and Glasgow to 125 mph now complete, National Express East Coast could not compete with Virgin Trains
on London-Glasgow journey times (still 5 hrs 45 mins compared to the new 4 hrs 10 min timings available on the WCML), but they do provide a useful link from Glasgow to Newcastle and York and a secondary route for use when the WCML is closed for engineering work. NXEC has however regained its monopoly over London-Edinburgh services since Virgin dropped their sole Euston-Edinburgh service in 2009.
The East Coast franchise has become the significant target of competition from the granting of licences to the first open-access operators, at Hull from First Hull Trains, and from York directly and the North East indirectly from Grand Central.
The First ScotRail
London to Scotland Caledonian Sleeper
offers an evening service alternative to the East Coast destinations of Aberdeen and Inverness (Highland Sleeper) and Edinburgh and Glasgow (Lowland Sleeper), although it runs from London Euston
instead of Kings Cross.
diesel locomotives and Mark 3
coaching stock (InterCity 125
), and Class 91
electric locomotives and Mark 4
Mallard coaches (InterCity 225
).
Mark 3 Coaching Stock were being refurbished by National Express to take them up to Mallard MK4 coaching stock standards.
National Express East Coast offered free Wi-Fi to passengers in both first and standard class.
news
Train operating company
The term train operating company is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, running high speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
between London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, as part of the East Coast passenger franchise. Under the privatised railway system in Great Britain
Rail transport in Great Britain
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of of standard gauge lines , of which are electrified. These lines range from single to double, triple, quadruple track and up to twelve...
, the franchise was operated by NXEC Trains Limited, a subsidiary of National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
, who operated the franchise in return for payments being made to the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
.
National Express were awarded the right to operate the franchise in 2007 after the previous operator, Great North Eastern Railway
Great North Eastern Railway
Great North Eastern Railway was a British train operating company, owned by Sea Containers Ltd. It operated high-speed express train services on the East Coast Main Line from 1996 until 9 December 2007 when the franchise was taken over by National Express East Coast.GNER's primary service routes...
(GNER), were forced to give up the franchise by the government early in 2006, after financial difficulties. NXEC in-turn lost its franchise on 14 November 2009.
On 1 July 2009, after unsuccessfully attempting to re-negotiate the franchise terms, the National Express Group announced it would not provide further financial support to ensure it could continue operations for the full term of the franchise. In response, the government stated it would temporarily re-nationalise the franchise, handing over the assets of NXEC to a publicly owned company to continue the NXEC service levels, before an intention to re-tender the franchise in 2010. The handover to the new operator, East Coast
East Coast (train operating company)
East Coast is a British train operating company running high-speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland...
, took place at 23:59 on 13 November 2009.
NXEC operated long distance passenger services principally from London King's Cross to Edinburgh via Newcastle
Newcastle Central station
Newcastle railway station , is the mainline station of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line. It opened in 1850 and is a Grade I listed building...
, and from King's Cross to Leeds, with other services reaching into Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
History
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
process, which in respect to passenger services on the East Coast Main Line, passed the responsibility for operating passenger services from the state owned InterCity
InterCity (British Rail)
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services ....
East Coast operating division to the private Great North Eastern Railway
Great North Eastern Railway
Great North Eastern Railway was a British train operating company, owned by Sea Containers Ltd. It operated high-speed express train services on the East Coast Main Line from 1996 until 9 December 2007 when the franchise was taken over by National Express East Coast.GNER's primary service routes...
(GNER) company, in April 1996.
GNER retained their franchise in 2005 on a 10 year basis, in return for a payment to the government of £1.3 billion, however, due to the financial difficulties of GNER's parent company Sea Containers, on 15 December 2006 the government announced it was removing the franchise from GNER and would put it up for re-tender, with the GNER operating contract transferred to a fixed fee management contract in the interim.
After the tendering process, the national transport operator National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
was awarded the franchise on 14 August 2007. In winning the franchise, National Express had agreed to pay the Department of Transport
Department of Transport
Department of Transport may refer to:* The Irish government department, see Department of Transport * The UK government department formerly known as the Department of Transport, see Department for Transport...
£1.4 billion for the right to run the service until 2015. At the time rail analysts had speculated that the Group had paid too much for the franchise. The operation of the new franchise passed to the National Express subsidiary NXEC on 9 December 2007.
Financial difficulties and nationalisation
By 2009, NXEC was under increasing financial pressure due to rising fuel prices and the ongoing economic recession. Instead of projected increases in revenue from the franchise, in the first half of 2009, NXEC ticket sales income decreased by 1%.Due to the revenue shortfall, National Express introduced a charge of £2.50 per leg for seat reservations in Standard Class. This fee was introduced on 17 May 2009 on both the East Coast and East Anglia services. Reservations in First Class are still provided at no extra charge.
In late April 2009, National Express confirmed that it was still pursuing talks with the government over possible financial assistance with the franchise, either through a reduction in the premium due, or other assistance. On 3 May it was reported that the company had reached an "outline agreement" to effectively cancel the franchise, transferring it to a management contract, whereby National Express would receive a fixed fee for running services on the line until it could be re-tendered in one or two years.
On 1 July 2009 it was announced that National Express planned to default on the franchise, having failed to renegotiate the contractual terms of operation, with National Express stating that as a parent Group it would not provide the further financial support necessary to ensure that the National Express East Coast subsidiary remained solvent. As a result, the Government stated it would establish a publicly owned company, which at a future date in an orderly handover, would take over the staff and assets necessary to run the franchise, and would continue all timetabled services. The government announced that this would be a short term measure, and the franchise would be put up for re-tender toward the end of 2010.
In prior negotiations, the Group had reportedly offered to pay "well over £100 million" in order to be released from its commitment to operate the franchise. Transport Secretary Lord Adonis had rejected this on a matter of principle. He stated: "The government is not prepared to renegotiate rail franchises, because I'm simply not prepared to bail out companies that are unable to meet their commitments". In defaulting on the franchise, under the franchising system, National Express Group only directly incurs losses of £72 million in bonds. It would also however, lose its pre-qualified status in the bidding for future franchises.
Additionally, the government stated it believed it had grounds to terminate National Express Group's other rail franchises, and would be exploring its options to do so. The franchise failure sparked public and industry calls for the permanent public ownership of the East Coast franchise, or even the complete scrapping of the entire franchise system. In response, Lord Adonis reiterated the findings of a 2008 National Audit Office
National Audit Office
National Audit Office can refer to:* Australian National Audit Office* National Audit Office * National Audit Office of the People's Republic of China* Swedish National Audit Office...
report, which had concluded that the rail franchising system delivered good value for money and steadily improving services.
The failure of NXEC was only the second instance of a UK rail franchise being re-nationalised. This previous occurrence was also a temporary arrangement, when the government owned South Eastern Trains
South Eastern Trains
South Eastern Trains was a British train operating company, in public ownership, that provided train services in south east London and South East England from 9 November 2003 to 31 March 2006....
company, which took over the operations of Connex South Eastern
Connex South Eastern
Connex South Eastern was a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It was owned by the Connex Group and operated between 14 October 1996 and 9 November 2003. The company operated passenger services in South London and Kent...
in 2003, was replaced by the private operator, Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
.
Shortly before the loss of the franchise, National Express' rival FirstGroup had made a speculative takeover approach, however this was rejected. On announcing the defaulting on the franchise, it was also announced that the Group Chief Executive Richard Bowker
Richard Bowker (British businessman)
Richard Bowker CBE is former Chief executive officer of National Express Group. He attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn, read Economics at Leicester University, and played as a professional session pianist for a year, after which he joined the London Underground as a Graduate...
had resigned, to take up a position as chief executive of Union Railway in the United Arab Emirates.
National Express East Coast continued to operate services on the line until 14 November 2009, when a new company called East Coast
East Coast (train operating company)
East Coast is a British train operating company running high-speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland...
controlled by chief executive Elaine Holt took over its operations. The Transport Secretary Lord Adonis announced he expected the company to remain in public ownership for two years, rather than the 18 months that had previously been expected.
Service patterns
The lines used by the franchise were historically part of London and North Eastern RailwayLondon and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
(LNER) company, before being nationalised into British Railways. The passenger services operated by the East Coast franchisee post 1996 have historically been a prestige part of the UK rail network, having once included the famous Flying Scotsman
Flying Scotsman (train)
The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has been running between London and Edinburgh—the capitals of England and Scotland respectively—since 1862...
passenger train, and latterly being part of the nationalised British Rail InterCity
InterCity (British Rail)
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services ....
network.
In off-peak times, there are three or four trains per hour to and from Kings Cross. The following details apply to weekday operations.
London–Newcastle–Edinburgh
A half-hourly service between Kings Cross and Newcastle operated for most of the day, departing from London on the hour and on the half hour. The ‘top of the hour’ departures continued through to Edinburgh Waverley (with the 10:00 departure keeping the traditional name Flying ScotsmanFlying Scotsman (train)
The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has been running between London and Edinburgh—the capitals of England and Scotland respectively—since 1862...
), with a two-hourly extension to Glasgow Central.
These trains generally ran as limited-stop expresses between London and Newcastle, all trains called at York, and most at Peterborough and Darlington, though afternoon and evening departures from Kings Cross ran non-stop to Doncaster or York. The trains leaving Kings Cross on the half hour generally terminated at Newcastle and served Stevenage, Grantham, Newark, Retford, Doncaster and Durham as well as Peterborough, York, and Darlington.
London–Leeds
The service between Kings Cross and Leeds was generally half-hourly, with all trains serving Wakefield Westgate, most trains serving Peterborough and Doncaster and some serving Stevenage, Grantham, Newark and Retford.Aberdeen
There were 4 trains per day each way serving Aberdeen departing Leeds at 07:10 and Kings Cross at 10:30 (The Northern Lights), 14:00 and 16:00, the journey time from Kings Cross being just over seven hours. Three services departed Aberdeen for Kings Cross at 07:52, 09:52 (The Northern Lights) and 14:50, and an 18:16 service to Edinburgh. These services were operated by HST sets, as the line between Aberdeen and EdinburghEdinburgh to Aberdeen Line
The Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line is a railway line linking Edinburgh with Aberdeen via the Forth Bridge, the Tay Bridge and Dundee. Also it serves as an extension to the East Coast Main Line and the Cross Country Route...
is not electrified.
Inverness
A daily service operated between Inverness and Kings Cross called the Highland Chieftain. The journey takes just over eight hours, departing Inverness at 0755 and Kings Cross at 12:00. This service was operated with a HST, as the lines to DunblaneEdinburgh to Dunblane Line
The Edinburgh to Dunblane Line is a railway line in East Central Scotland. It links the city of Edinburgh via Falkirk to the city of Stirling, Lecropt and the town of Dunblane...
and Inverness
Highland Main Line
The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the Scottish Highlands linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth at one end and Inverness at the other. Today, services between Inverness and Edinburgh, Glasgow and London use the line...
are not electrified.
Hull
The Hull Executive ran between Hull and Kings Cross, with one train per day each way departing Hull at 07:00 with a 17:20 return. This service also used a HST as the Hull lineYork & Selby Lines
The York & Selby Lines is the name given to a group of services in the West Yorkshire Metro area, connecting Leeds with places to its north and east: as well as the Northern Rail local services to York and Selby, the services extend to:...
is not electrified.
Skipton
There was a 06:55 train from SkiptonSkipton railway station
Skipton railway station serves the town of Skipton in North Yorkshire, England on the Airedale Line. It is operated by Northern Rail and is situated north-west of Leeds....
and Keighley
Keighley railway station
Keighley railway station serves the town of Keighley in West Yorkshire, England.First opened in March 1847 by the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway , the station is located on the Airedale Line north west of Leeds. It is managed by Northern Rail, who operate most of the passenger trains...
to King's Cross with a 18:03 return. As is the case with the Bradford service, this is an extension of a Leeds – London service. Though the line to Skipton is electrified throughout, the National Express East Coast service to/from the town was operated using a HST because the electrical infrastructure on the Leeds to Skipton line is insufficient to support a Class 91 locomotive and the class 333 EMUs (Electric Multiple Units) that operate the local services from Leeds to Skipton
Harrogate
There was a Monday-Saturday 07:28 HST departure from Harrogate to King's Cross. However, there was no return journey so passengers are required to change at Leeds or York on to Northern RailNorthern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
services to Harrogate. The Saturday running of this service was the only National Express East Coast southbound service from Leeds not to call at Wakefield Westgate. This service departed from Leeds and heads along the Selby line
York & Selby Lines
The York & Selby Lines is the name given to a group of services in the West Yorkshire Metro area, connecting Leeds with places to its north and east: as well as the Northern Rail local services to York and Selby, the services extend to:...
to join the East Coast Main Line at Hambleton
Hambleton, Selby
Hambleton is a small village and civil parish near to Selby in North Yorkshire, England. It is a ward of the district of Selby and should not be confused with the district of Hambleton, another district of North Yorkshire....
.
Bradford Forster Square
There was a 06:30 service from Bradford Forster Square to King's Cross with a 17:33 return.Named trains
NX East Coast operates the following named passenger trains in their timetable:- The Hull Executive London - Hull / Hull - London
- The Northern Lights London - Aberdeen / Aberdeen - London
- The Highland Chieftain London - Inverness / Inverness - London
- The Flying ScotsmanFlying Scotsman (train)The Flying Scotsman is an express passenger train service that has been running between London and Edinburgh—the capitals of England and Scotland respectively—since 1862...
London - Edinburgh / Glasgow Central - London
Rail based competitors
With the upgrade of the West Coast Main LineWest Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
between London Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
and Glasgow to 125 mph now complete, National Express East Coast could not compete with Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
on London-Glasgow journey times (still 5 hrs 45 mins compared to the new 4 hrs 10 min timings available on the WCML), but they do provide a useful link from Glasgow to Newcastle and York and a secondary route for use when the WCML is closed for engineering work. NXEC has however regained its monopoly over London-Edinburgh services since Virgin dropped their sole Euston-Edinburgh service in 2009.
The East Coast franchise has become the significant target of competition from the granting of licences to the first open-access operators, at Hull from First Hull Trains, and from York directly and the North East indirectly from Grand Central.
The First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
London to Scotland Caledonian Sleeper
Caledonian Sleeper
The Caledonian Sleeper is a sleeper train service operated by First ScotRail and one of only two remaining sleeper services running on the railways of Great Britain, the other being the Night Riviera....
offers an evening service alternative to the East Coast destinations of Aberdeen and Inverness (Highland Sleeper) and Edinburgh and Glasgow (Lowland Sleeper), although it runs from London Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
instead of Kings Cross.
Lincoln
As part of the award of the franchise to in 2007, it was proposed a fifth service would operate out of Kings Cross each hour, operating to Lincoln and York on alternate hours from December 2010. It was proposed to lease 4 Class 90s and Mark 3 sets, for use on the Leeds and York services with HSTs being used on the Lincoln services. This was later shelved and 5 Class 180s were to be leased instead. It was anticipated that one early morning train would start from Cleethorpes, serving Grimsby Town and Market Rasen, with one evening service to Lincoln extended to Cleethorpes.Performance
The most recent performance figures for the second quarter of 2009/10 put National Express at a Public performance Measure (percentage of trains arriving on time) of 89.3% for the East Coast route. The Moving Annual Average up to 30 September 2009 was 88.6%, slightly up on last year.Fleet
The new franchise inherited the rolling stock operated by GNER, which encompasses Class 43British Rail Class 43 (HST)
The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982....
diesel locomotives and Mark 3
British Rail Mark 3
British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train...
coaching stock (InterCity 125
InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
), and Class 91
British Rail Class 91
The British Rail Class 91 is a class of , electric locomotives ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of...
electric locomotives and Mark 4
British Rail Mark 4
British Rail's fourth design of passenger carriages was designated Mark 4, designed for use in InterCity 225 sets on the newly-electrified East Coast Main Line between London, Leeds, and Edinburgh.-History and construction:...
Mallard coaches (InterCity 225
InterCity 225
The InterCity 225 is a locomotive-hauled domestic train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer...
).
Mark 3 Coaching Stock were being refurbished by National Express to take them up to Mallard MK4 coaching stock standards.
National Express East Coast offered free Wi-Fi to passengers in both first and standard class.
| Trainset | Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| InterCity 125 InterCity 125 The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the... |
Class 43 British Rail Class 43 (HST) The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982.... |
 |
Diesel locomotive Diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel... |
125 | 200 | 30 | London Kings Cross-Aberdeen London Kings Cross-Inverness London Kings Cross-Edinburgh London Kings Cross-Hull London Kings Cross-Skipton London Kings Cross-Harrogate Leeds-Aberdeen London Kings Cross-Newcastle |
| Mark 3 coach British Rail Mark 3 British Rail's third design of standard carriage was designated 'Mark 3' , and was developed primarily for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train... |
 |
Passenger carriage | 125 | 200 | 117 | ||
| InterCity 225 InterCity 225 The InterCity 225 is a locomotive-hauled domestic train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer... |
Class 91 British Rail Class 91 The British Rail Class 91 is a class of , electric locomotives ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of... |
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Electric locomotive Electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device... |
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| Mark 4 coach British Rail Mark 4 British Rail's fourth design of passenger carriages was designated Mark 4, designed for use in InterCity 225 sets on the newly-electrified East Coast Main Line between London, Leeds, and Edinburgh.-History and construction:... |
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Driving Van Trailer Driving Van Trailer A Driving Van Trailer is a purpose-built railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate a locomotive at the opposite end of a train. Trains operating with a DVT therefore do not require the locomotive to be moved around to the other end of the train at terminal stations... |
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