East Coast Rail Line is Nationalised

The government is taking the East Coast rail line that runs from London to Edinburgh and which has been operated by National Express into public ownership. National Express has struggled with falling revenues and higher costs that have contributed to rising losses on the line. In a press release, National Express said that higher hedged fuel costs added £11 million of cost in the first half of 2009, while increased pension costs cost the business a further £3 million.

Nationalisation Again - National Express Taken into Public Ownership

First it was the banks.  Now it is strategic transport businesses.  The government has this morning nationalised the East Coast raiway line, previously operated by National Express.

The train feels the strain

Do you remember the old adverts for British Rail Intercity?  One of the advertising straplines was “The Age of the Train”.  I remember seeing that on one poster inside a carriage - some wag had written underneath..."ours is about 101”. I was travelling down what has since become the most profitable rail route in the UK - the East Coast Main Line.  And that very line is now the subject of some concerned investors who feel that the new operator, National Express, might have bitten off more than it can chew.