Weather
York National Express East Coast taken over by Government, boss Bowker on way out (From York Press)
Get in touch: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting YORK to 80360 or send an email»
York National Express East Coast taken over by Government, boss Bowker on way out
8:33am Wednesday 1st July 2009
THE Government is to take over the running of a major rail route through York after cash-strapped National Express walked away from its franchise.
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said he had set up a publicly-owned company which will take over the East Coast Main Line when its current operator ceases to run the franchise - probably later this year.
Lord Adonis assured worried rail-users that the changes would not mean journey problems and said tickets already bought for the East Coast route, which links London and Scotland, would be honoured.
The announcement of the takeover came as National Express announced its chief executive Richard Bowker, a former boss of the now-defunct Strategic Rail Authority, was leaving to take up a Middle East rail job.
The problem with the East Coast franchise was that National Express had to pay back to the Government a total of £1.4 billion in premiums over the life of the franchise, which should have run until 2015.
But passenger growth has stalled in the recession and the company has failed to renegotiate the franchise with the Department for Transport.
Today, National Express said it was no longer willing to provide financial support for the franchise. A trading statement on its website said the "challenging economic environment" meant it was seeing fewer passengers on the East Coast line and "significant" numbers of people downgrading from first-class and full fares.
Lord Adonis said: "I have therefore established a publicly-owned company, which will take over this franchise from the point at which National Express East Coast ceases to operate.
"We will agree an orderly handover with National Express. Until that date, National Express will operate services on the current basis - after that date the new public company will do so.
"There will be no interruption of services. Existing operational staff - who continue to provide a good service - will transfer to the new East Coast Main Line company, so will the assets necessary for the continuation of the service.
"I can assure the travelling public that services will continue without disruption and all tickets will be honoured."
More News stories
- Warning over bogus salesman
- Johnny Depp could film in Shambles
- More crucial treatment for youngsters Alfie Oliver and Jamie Inglis
- Mugger targeted former pupil
- Pensioner, 92, died after fall
- Storyteller Ben Haggarty will be in York next month to kick-start a new initiative
- Youngsters given food for thought
- Fresh appeal over Acomb rape
- Snake joins TV dinner party
- 5,000 people have say on Blossom Street junction plan in York
Your Say YourPress
Taken for a Mug, York says...
9:43am Wed 1 Jul 09
ok maybe not then..
visionary, York says...
10:02am Wed 1 Jul 09
moleculeman, Acomb says...
10:05am Wed 1 Jul 09
uglygit, york says...
10:32am Wed 1 Jul 09
Taken for a Mug, York says...
10:43am Wed 1 Jul 09
uglygit wrote:As of today a 10% reduction in their share price
Can someone in the know help me here? NX were paying £1.4b for this franchise, what do they get for their money?
consumer, York says...
10:57am Wed 1 Jul 09
uglygit wrote:The chance to make money by providing rail services on the East Coast main line.
Can someone in the know help me here? NX were paying £1.4b for this franchise, what do they get for their money?
Garrowby Turnoff, Bishop Wilton says...
10:59am Wed 1 Jul 09
Rimpole, Selby says...
11:09am Wed 1 Jul 09
topumpire1, york says...
11:10am Wed 1 Jul 09
Garrowby Turnoff wrote:Railways ARE a PUBLIC service Mr Garrowby turnoff!
There's one story elsewhere hereabouts regarding the re-opening of a line to Beverley from York. P'raps the proposers ought to read the above before thinking that it will be fiscally sustainable when one of England's busiest rail lines is going belly-up!
They should not be run for profit, but the benefit of the public/ travelers!
At present Beverley to York is either a car ride or a bumpy bus journey (or a long/ infrequent train ride via Hull (or Scarborough)). The A1079 is already well & truely clogged up so ANY help to get some cars (& Goods) off it would be of great benefit to ALL!!
Rimpole, Selby says...
11:10am Wed 1 Jul 09
SHOULD I keep colloecting the press tokens?
titsnadezoo, says...
11:14am Wed 1 Jul 09
topumpire1, york says...
11:15am Wed 1 Jul 09
GNER were good value, friendly & helpful and were TRYING to run service people wanted (more frequent over parts of the route, what happened to the London to York services that GNER ran just before they lost the route? immediately cancelled!!)
message to any NEW operator, run services that we the public want, not what you WANT to run, if we want the service we will use it!
pedalling paul , York says...
11:34am Wed 1 Jul 09
To counter this, Government has sought to extract maximum income from profitable routes.
When the franchises were let, neither Government or NX could have forseen the recession, with its impact on business and leisure travel. The franchise terms are simply too inflexible to accomodate this.
again, york says...
11:39am Wed 1 Jul 09
uglygit wrote:They were given a stage upon which to exhibit their incompetence. The show is now over.
Can someone in the know help me here? NX were paying £1.4b for this franchise, what do they get for their money?
uglygit, york says...
11:54am Wed 1 Jul 09
again wrote:So they'll need to make this money up on ticket prices passed on the the customer. isn't this just a £1.4b tax on rail customers then?
uglygit wrote:They were given a stage upon which to exhibit their incompetence. The show is now over.
Can someone in the know help me here? NX were paying £1.4b for this franchise, what do they get for their money?
Mike Oxuge, York says...
12:05pm Wed 1 Jul 09
Rimpole wrote:I wouldn't worry about it. I just booked 2 return tickets from York to London through the offer and at no time was I asked for any tokens, yet I still got the tickets for £8 each way. Good job I never wasted my money on 8 copies of the press!!
Apologies....
SHOULD I keep colloecting the press tokens?
Henry Swanson, York says...
12:58pm Wed 1 Jul 09
Kynnersley, Huntington says...
1:08pm Wed 1 Jul 09
uglygit wrote:It was NX that ssid it would pay £1.4b to win the franchise, there was no set price. They then expected to be able to re-negotiate this figure if it was found to be too high. I'm glad they were not allowed to, it would have made a mockery of the tender process. Trains should be run as a public service not for private profit.
again wrote:So they'll need to make this money up on ticket prices passed on the the customer. isn't this just a £1.4b tax on rail customers then?uglygit wrote: Can someone in the know help me here? NX were paying £1.4b for this franchise, what do they get for their money?They were given a stage upon which to exhibit their incompetence. The show is now over.
skippy41, Scotland says...
4:05pm Wed 1 Jul 09
They no longer have to buy black cabs, not only due to the high court ruling ,but as the person in charge of the permits can no longer charge or make the rules up as he goes along,
And the best bit they no longer have to pay for the privilege of working there and the station is now open to any taxi owner driver, as the east coast line is now in public ownership
Garrowby Turnoff, Bishop Wilton says...
7:38pm Wed 1 Jul 09
topumpire1 wrote:I disagree! Tell Mr Beeching who originally closed the line because it was unprofitable. It'll be a ghost line, or like Malton where hundreds of cars sit waiting for a train to pass with four passengers on it. That's the prospect on the A166, A1079 and whichever other road the train needs to cross. You poll car passengers and ask them if they want to sit every morning and night while a token handful of passengers cross on a little train. The roads would be doubly clogged due to the wait and all for the sake of an imbecilic plan which will backfire at the first train wreck at an unmanned crossing.
Garrowby Turnoff wrote: There's one story elsewhere hereabouts regarding the re-opening of a line to Beverley from York. P'raps the proposers ought to read the above before thinking that it will be fiscally sustainable when one of England's busiest rail lines is going belly-up!Railways ARE a PUBLIC service Mr Garrowby turnoff! They should not be run for profit, but the benefit of the public/ travelers! At present Beverley to York is either a car ride or a bumpy bus journey (or a long/ infrequent train ride via Hull (or Scarborough)). The A1079 is already well & truely clogged up so ANY help to get some cars (& Goods) off it would be of great benefit to ALL!!
yorkandproud, york says...
8:59pm Wed 1 Jul 09
Caecilius, York says...
5:40pm Thu 2 Jul 09
Garrowby Turnoff wrote:Interesting to see that North Yorkshire's motorists are still blaming level crossings, not cars, for congestion. They were coming out with this nearly 20 years ago, when the Harrogate Advertiser published letters claiming that the gridlock in the town was caused by traffic having to stop a mile or so away at Starbeck crossing for a few minutes in every hour and that the track should therefore be ripped up. From personal observation, the congestion had more to do with lazy motorists who refused to use the car park and walk a short distance into town. Instead, they cruised round the one way system until a vehicle parked within a few yards of the shop they wanted to visit showed signs of leaving - at which point they would stop, block the road, bring the entire town to a halt as the traffic backed up behind them and wait until they could grab the parking spot they were after. The shop keepers sided with them, and protested (after the bus station had been closed down) at bus stops being resited near their premises, because it inconvenienced bone-idle motorists who wanted to park slap outside the shop door so they only needed to stagger two or three yards on their spindly legs. They reckoned that bus users (more likely to be elderly, mothers with small children, etc.) should be expected to walk across town so the Harrogate gentry could all but drive up to the shop counter in their Rangerovers.
topumpire1 wrote:I disagree! Tell Mr Beeching who originally closed the line because it was unprofitable. It'll be a ghost line, or like Malton where hundreds of cars sit waiting for a train to pass with four passengers on it. That's the prospect on the A166, A1079 and whichever other road the train needs to cross. You poll car passengers and ask them if they want to sit every morning and night while a token handful of passengers cross on a little train. The roads would be doubly clogged due to the wait and all for the sake of an imbecilic plan which will backfire at the first train wreck at an unmanned crossing.Garrowby Turnoff wrote: There's one story elsewhere hereabouts regarding the re-opening of a line to Beverley from York. P'raps the proposers ought to read the above before thinking that it will be fiscally sustainable when one of England's busiest rail lines is going belly-up!Railways ARE a PUBLIC service Mr Garrowby turnoff! They should not be run for profit, but the benefit of the public/ travelers! At present Beverley to York is either a car ride or a bumpy bus journey (or a long/ infrequent train ride via Hull (or Scarborough)). The A1079 is already well & truely clogged up so ANY help to get some cars (& Goods) off it would be of great benefit to ALL!!
How very North Yorkshire.
skippy41, Scotland says...
7:11pm Fri 3 Jul 09
yorkandproud wrote:Wake up and smell the coffee, it was not NE that put the fee's up but the dip stick in charge of station taxis,he put in a stupid bid then charged you all for the privalage, he is a dictator you don't have to have a black cab either due to the high court ruling, none of you should be paying anything now that the station is back in public ownership so get the drivers informed that they don't have to pay the dipstick anything
Good riddance NX. Treated the hard working taxi drivers on the Station rank like dirt. Put fees up 100% with nothing in return, not even a toilet. They could not run a raffle.
Local Advertisers
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
bobby_spray, York says...
9:38am Wed 1 Jul 09