 | |
 InterCity 125 HST at London King's Cross in 2009 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Franchise(s) | InterCity East Coast 9 December 2007 – 13 November 2009 |
| Main region(s) | |
| Fleet size |
|
| Stations called at | 53 |
| Stations operated | 12 |
| Parent company | National Express |
| Reporting mark | GR |
| Predecessor | GNER |
| Successor | East Coast |
| Other | |
| Website | nationalexpresseastcoast.com |
National Express East Coast (NXEC)[2] was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by National Express, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and Scotland from December 2007 until November 2009.
During December 2006, the previous franchisee Sea Containers, operating via its subsidiary Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), was stripped of the franchise after failing to meet overly-generous payments. During August 2007, National Express was awarded the franchise via a competitive tender; its bid was criticised for having offered similarly onerous payments to GNER. Within months of commencing operation in December 2007, NXEC became known for its cost-cutting measures and a noted drop in service level. The company became unable to meet its payment obligations, having forecast greater ridership than actually experienced while fuel costs had risen considerably. By early 2009, National Express was in talks with the government over possible financial assistance with the franchise. Months later, in light of National Express' plan to default on the franchise, the Department for Transport announced that the franchise would be re-nationalised. Hence, operations passed to the publicly-owned East Coast on 14 November 2009.
- ^ NXEC Trains Limited 05876737 (Companies House extract). Register of Companies (Report). Companies House. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ^ Legal name NXEC Trains Limited.[1]