State-run train service paid out more than £200m in 2012-13 and is expected to return around £1bn over next five years
East coast, the sole state-operated train service in the national rail network, paid more than £200m in dividends and premiums to the taxpayer in 2012-13, figures to be published on Tuesday show.
Industry sources now predict that Directly Operated Railways (DOR), the Department for Transport's arms-length company, will return around £1bn in total to the government over the five years it expects to run the service.
DOR stepped in after National Express handed back the keys two years into the seven-year franchise it won in 2007 to run the long-distance train service from London to Edinburgh.
Action for Rail, a trade union-backed campaign, is pressing to keep the line in public hands. The Labour party has also criticised the government for prioritising the privatisation of east coast in the redrawn rail franchising timetable.
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin has expressed an interest in running the line, along with a host of foreign, state-backed train operators. Last week a French joint venture of Keolis-Eurostar, two companies majority owned by state railways SNCF, confirmed it would bid to run the line.
An invitation to tender will be issued to shortlisted operators in February 2014. The contract is due to be awarded in October next year for a handover in February 2015, just ahead of the next general election. Any delay would give a potential Labour government the opportunity to keep the line in public hands.
Article Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk
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