THE man in charge of train services in the East Midlands has been appointed to lead the new company which is taking over the York-headquartered East Coast franchise.

Following the public sector-owned franchise being awarded to Virgin and Stagecoach, the consortium’s new company Virgin Trains East Coast has announced David Horne will be its managing director when the operation is fully privatised in March 2015.

Currently managing director of Stagecoach-owned East Midlands Trains, Mr Horne has held senior positions within South West Trains and Virgin Trains, and led the successful bid on behalf of Stagecoach for the East Midlands Trains franchise in 2007.

He will replace East Coast managing director Karen Boswell.

Mr Horne’s appointment follows last week’s announcement from Virgin Trains East Coast, which confirmed the franchise would continue to be run from headquarters in York.

Martin Griffiths, chief executive of Stagecoach Group, said: “We’re now well under way with putting our plans in place for the new Virgin Trains East Coast franchise and we’re pleased to be announcing David’s appointment.

“I am confident David will be a great addition to the East Coast team and will use his experience to make Virgin Trains East Coast a huge success.

“I would also like to pay tribute to Karen Boswell, who has been managing director at East Coast over the past five years. In challenging circumstances Karen has ably led a team of 3,000 committed employees and ensured we have a good platform for our future plans.”