Virgin boss Branson waits to see how situation develops

SIR Richard Branson is on standby to run trains on the prestigious East Coast Main Line.

The entrepreneur’s Virgin Trains is ready to bid for the East Coast rail franchise after the current deal with operator National Express collapsed yesterday.

Transport giant First Group also signalled interest in running trains between the North East, London and Scotland, days after bidding to takeover National Express.

And North East-based transport company Arriva indicated its interest in the franchise.

No firms would say how much they would pay the Government for the franchise, but there are doubts it would be anything like the £1.4bn National Express agreed, and that could hit transport budgets hard.

A spokesman for Virgin Trains, which runs west coast services, said: "We will look at what is in the invitation to tender, which will come out from the Department for Transport.

"We bid in 2007, so our interest in the East Coast is there, but we will have to look at the detail of what the DfT wants."

He insisted it was not possible to comment on the potential payment to the Government to secure the franchise, saying the company needed to look at the detail.

"We do think we were only beaten on price by National Express in 2007, and ours is a sensible and deliverable bid," added the spokesman.

A First Group spokesman said: "We are a long-term player in the rail industry and are always interested in new opportunities as they emerge.

"We therefore will be interested in looking at the inter-city East Coast franchise as and when it comes up."

Declining to comment on the price of any deal, he added the new franchise could look "radically different", which could include more or fewer services as well as a longer or shorter contract.

First Group operates TransPennine Express, Great Western, Scotrail, Capital Connect and Hull Trains, as well as freight services.

Sunderland-based Arriva, which runs CrossCountry and Welsh trains, said: "As a business, we are always interested in taking a look at major contracts that come up, but any decision on whether to make a formal bid with all the associated costs would be some way in the future."

Page 4: 'Special Vehicle' may let National Express of the hook