Great North Eastern Railway
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| Franchise(s): | East Coast Main Line April 1996 – 2003 2003 - 2005 2005 – 2007[1] (originally 2015) |
| Main region(s): | Central Scotland, Northern Scotland, North East England, East Midlands, South East England |
| Other region(s): | London |
| Fleet size: | 31 Class 91 electric locomotives 30 InterCity 225 sets |
| Stations: | 49 |
| Parent company: | Sea Containers Ltd |
| Web site: | www.gner.co.uk |
Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) is a British train operating company, owned by Sea Containers Ltd. They operate high-speed express train services on the East Coast Main Line.
Most of their trains run between London King's Cross and either Edinburgh Waverley or Leeds.
From Edinburgh Waverley, selected services continue on to Motherwell & Glasgow, Inverness, or Dundee & Aberdeen. From Leeds, some trains run to and from Bradford, Skipton, and Harrogate.
One service per day also runs to and from Hull via Brough, Howden and Selby. Other towns and cities served by GNER trains include Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark, Retford, Doncaster, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Morpeth, Alnmouth for Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Dunbar, Wakefield, Perth, Kirkcaldy, Leuchars for St Andrews, Arbroath, and Montrose. GNER locomotives are serviced at Bounds Green TMD in London; and at Craigentinny in Edinburgh.
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[edit] History
GNER were originally awarded a seven-year franchise in April 1996 to run what had been the InterCity East Coast division of British Rail. The company was later granted with a two-year extension allowing them to operate trains until 2005. When this franchise expired, they won a renewal until 2015, overcoming rival bids from Danish State Railways, First London, Scottish and North East Railway, and inter city-railways (a consortium of Deutsche Bahn, Stagecoach Group, and Virgin Group). For this new franchise, GNER’s annual payment to the government has increased to £130 million, quadruple the previous amount. As a result, the company said that they were likely to raise fares and make job cuts. [1]
The initials ‘GNER’ were almost certainly chosen for their similarity to LNER, the company that operated the route before being nationalised as part of British Railways in 1948. Additionally, two of the LNER’s predecessor companies were the GNR, who built Kings Cross station, and the GER. GNER made further links to their past by adopting a dark blue livery with red trimming lines for their trains, similar to that used by the GER, and using a Victorian coat of arms-style crest on their trains.
GNER were the second-to-last British train company to allow smoking in designated areas on their trains, but banned it completely on 29 August 2005. First ScotRail at that time still allowed limited smoking on their Caledonian Sleeper services, although it was subsequently banned in October 2005 in advance of the 26 March 2006 deadline, when a smoking ban in public places came into force under Scottish law.
In 2005, GNER and Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation made an unsuccessful joint bid, under the name Great South Eastern Railway, for the Integrated Kent Franchise now held by Govia, who operate it as Southeastern.
GNER have only had two major accidents in its operating years, these were: The Hatfield crash on the 17th October 2000 when the 12:10 London Kings Cross - Leeds Train derailed just south of Hatfield station due to a hairline crack in the rail. The death toll of the accident was quite low due to the only fatalities being in the restaurant car which struck an overhead catenary stanchion during the derailment. GNER's only other accident was the Selby rail disaster on the morning of the 28 February 2001, where a Newcastle Central - London Kings Cross service hit a Land-Rover that had drove off the M62 on to the ECML, the GNER service deralied and was subsiquently hit by the Freightliner service from Immingham - Ferrybridge resulting in the death of 10 people.
Under the name Great South Western Railway, GNER and MTR had pre-qualified to bid for the new South Western franchise, which began on the 4 February 2007 and combined services formerly operated by South West Trains and Island Line. However, Stagecoach won the franchise again, meaning that Sea Containers' railway operations in the UK are still limited to GNER. [2]
On 15 December 2006, the Department for Transport announced that it is set to dissolve GNER's franchise to operate the East Coast Main Line. The existing franchise contract was established in 2005 and was originally intended to last for 10 years. The reconsideration is due in part at least to lower than expected revenue figures by GNER; in October 2006, Sea Containers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Although a new franchisee will not be selected for some time, Virgin Trains/Stagecoach Group, National Express Group and FirstGroup plc are all expected to bid. GNER will continue operating the line until a new franchise is established.[2][3] www.gner.co.uk/GNER
[edit] Financial and operational concerns
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This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
In May 2006, it was revealed that GNER's parent company Sea Containers was in financial difficulties, and was rumoured to be bordering on insolvency. Subsequent to this, questions were raised as to whether GNER could continue operating should its parent company cease trading. The company rejected this assertion, stating that its lines of credit and financial activities were "ring-fenced" away from Sea Containers, and therefore a cessation of services for this reason was impossible. It did not however stop a furore of speculation from rival TOC's (principally Virgin Trains and First Group) that they would be keen to rebid for the ECML franchise if it were put back out to tender. In July 2006, rumours then began circulating that Sea Containers would be prepared to sell GNER in an effort to stave off resorting to Chapter 11 proceedings to secure itself from its creditors.[4]
On 27 July 2006 the High Court rejected GNER's judicial review over the Office of Rail Regulation's decision to allow Grand Central Railway to operate trains along part of the East Coast Main Line.[5] GNER had made its application partly on the basis that 'open access' train operators (like Hull Trains) are not required to meet the same fixed costs for accessing Network Rail's infrastructure as those train operating companies running services under a contract or 'franchise' with the UK Department for Transport. GNER's case failed principally because the High Court determined that not only did European law permit the Rail Regulator to establish a charging regime for open access operators which was different from the one which applies to franchised operators (such as GNER) - in this case not imposing a fixed charge on open access operators - but that if he had not done so, he would have been acting illegally because of the very different conditions under which open access operators and franchised operators get access to the network. The High Court (Mr Justice Sullivan) refused GNER permission to appeal, and GNER decided not to ask the Court of Appeal to take the case.
On 25 July 2006, two days before the public judgment in the above action, GNER announced that Christopher Garnett, the company's chief executive officer, was to step down, having occupied that position since Sea Containers, GNER's parent company, won the first InterCity East Coast franchise (see above). Amid growing industry speculation that Sea Containers was working towards a "financial restructuring", that company's President and Chief Executive Bob MacKenzie was named as Garnett's successor.[6] During and following these events, Sea Container's serious debt issues fuelled speculation about GNER's future ownership and operation, as discussed in the general and rail industry press.[7][8]
The problems have been further fuelled by GNER's poor profitability, which has been linked to the company's overbidding for the ECML franchise coupled to what have proved to be crippling subsidy repayments to the Government (see above). The company blames the effects of the 7/7 terrorist attacks, increased electricity prices and increased competition from low cost airlines for the decline in passenger numbers. It also faces a growing challenge from the revitalised West Coast services operated by Virgin. The company has attempted to address the problem by encouraging internet sales by waiving booking fees, cutting staff numbers and raising fares and car parking charges where the market can bear it. In September 2006, the GNER's ex chief Christopher Garnett in a press interview[9] hinted at a bleak future for GNER and the franchising system - claiming that the trend among TOCs to overbid for the renewal of franchises would result in a financially unsustainable railway.
On 16 October, Sea Containers confirmed that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, therefore allowing it to continue trading should insolvency occur. Two days later, Sea Containers' chief Bob MacKenzie announced that the company was threatening to withdraw from the GNER franchise by May 2007 if the Government did not renegotiate the franchise terms.
By 27 November 2006 the Department of Transport announced that it would withdraw the franchise from GNER, largely on the basis of Sea Containers' financial difficulties and its uncertain future. However, the company has been allowed to continue running the ECML franchise on a fixed management contract basis for up to 24 months, until a new operator is found.
Bids for the InterCity East Coast franchise were submitted to the Department for Transport on the 15 January 2007 with details of the bids made public on 20 February 2007, neither GNER or its parent company made the shortlist of potential operators for the InterCity East Coast franchise, GNER has declined to comment on whether it made a bid submission to the Department for Transport. Only Arriva Trains, First Group, National Express Group and Virgin Trains/Stagecoach Group have been shortlisted to replace the incumbent operator.[10] The expected outcome of the bids is expected in late summer 2007 and new services are expected to begin in autumn 2007.[citation needed]
[edit] Service patterns
[edit] Principal routes
In off-peak times, there are three or four trains per hour to and from Kings Cross. The following details apply to weekday operations.
Journey times on many services operated by GNER have actually increased since the days of British Rail. The fastest London to Edinburgh journey time offered by the state corporation was 3 hours 59 minutes, whereas the fastest GNER service today (with the same rolling stock) takes 4 hours 10 minutes (the 15:00 London Kings Cross to Edinburgh).
[edit] London–Newcastle–Edinburgh
A half-hourly service between Kings Cross and Newcastle operates for most of the day, departing from London on the hour and on the half hour. The ‘top of the hour’ departures continue through to Edinburgh (with the 10:00 keeping the traditional name Flying Scotsman), with some running on to Glasgow Central or Aberdeen and then Inverness. These trains generally run as limited-stop expresses between London and Newcastle: all trains call at York, and most at Peterborough and Darlington, though afternoon and evening departures from Kings Cross run non-stop to York. The trains leaving Kings Cross on the half hour generally terminate at Newcastle and serve other intermediate stations such as Grantham, Newark, Retford, Doncaster and Durham as well as Peterborough, York, and Darlington.
[edit] London–Leeds
The service between Kings Cross and Leeds is generally half-hourly, with trains serving most main intermediate stations. With the completion of the Allington Chord, near Grantham, having increased track capacity, GNER hope to finally implement a full half-hourly service throughout the day on this route.
[edit] London-Glasgow via Edinburgh
GNER operate ten trains per day between Kings Cross and Glasgow. With the upgrade of the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow to 125mph now complete, GNER can no longer compete with Virgin on this route when it comes to journey times (still 5hrs 30mins compared to the new 4hrs 25min time on the WCML), but they do provide a useful link from Glasgow to Newcastle and York. GNER's Kings Cross to Glasgow services are still heavily used at weekends and during School Holidays.
[edit] Stations served less frequently
[edit] Aberdeen
There are three trains per day each way between Kings Cross and Aberdeen, the journey time being just over seven hours. There is also one service per day arriving at Aberdeen from Leeds. These services are operated by HST sets, as the line between Edinburgh and Aberdeen is not electrified.
[edit] Inverness
A daily service operates between Kings Cross and Inverness, called the Highland Chieftain, a journey taking just over eight hours. This route is operated with diesel HSTs, as the line north of Edinburgh is not electrified.
[edit] Hull
GNER continue to run the Hull Executive between Hull and Kings Cross, with one morning journey to London and one evening journey to Hull. Since the branch to Hull is not electrified, this route too is operated using diesel HST sets.
[edit] Bradford
There are two trains per day between Kings Cross and Bradford Forster Square. These are extensions of the Kings Cross–Leeds services and usually utilise the ‘Mallard’ electric sets.
[edit] Skipton
There is a morning train from Skipton and Keighley to Kings Cross with an early evening return. As is the case with the Bradford trains, this is an extension to the Leeds–London service. Though the line to Skipton is electrified throughout, the GNER service to/from the town is operated using a diesel HST because the electrical infrastructure on the Leeds to Skipton line is insufficient to support GNER's trains. The test run of a Class 91 on the line caused a voltage drop large enough to halt every other electric train on the line.[citation needed]
[edit] Harrogate
There is a Monday-Saturday morning HST departure from Harrogate to Kings Cross. However, there is no return journey so passengers are required to change at Leeds or York on to Northern Rail services to Harrogate.
The Saturday running of this service is the week's only GNER southbound service from Leeds not to call at Wakefield Westgate. This service departs from Leeds and heads along the Selby line to join the East Coast Main Line at Hambleton.
[edit] Rolling Stock
Unlike most other UK train companies, GNER continues to use only vehicles which were designed and built (or, in a small number of cases, specified) by the former state corporation British Rail - most of the rolling stock was built as long ago as the late 1970s (HSTs) or 1990 (225s). GNER’s primary rolling stock are InterCity 225 electric trainsets, each comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark IV coaches, and a driving van trailer. These sets were refurbished by Bombardier Transportation in 2003–2006 and are known as ‘Mallard’ in honour of the record-setting Mallard steam locomotive. They boast re-designed interiors and new features such as ‘Wi-Fi’ wireless Internet services and electrical sockets at every seat pair.
For routes where the infrastructure for electric trains is absent or inadequate, or to cover for shortages of electric sets, they also use the older diesel-electric InterCity 125 High Speed Train sets, which use two Class 43 locomotives with either eight or nine slam-door Mark 3 coaches. As one of their commitments for the new franchise, GNER agreed to upgrade these trains to the same standards as the Mallard project. [3] These were released on the 27th of February 2007 with a poem by popular poet Ian McMillan called "The High Speed Train".
The 225 ‘Mallard’ electric sets are all allocated to Bounds Green depot in north London, whilst the diesel HST fleet is allocated to Craigentinny in Edinburgh. The depots at Neville Hill in Leeds and Heaton in Newcastle carry out light maintenance and stabling.
Until December 2005, this fleet was supplemented by five (three of which were used per day) Class 373 high-speed trains leased from Eurostar, which operated the White Rose service between London and Leeds. Three of these had been adapted to GNER’s livery through the use of vinyl ‘wraps’, while the others retained its Eurostar colours. These trains have since been withdrawn and returned to Eurostar.
GNER purchased and for some years used the unique Class 89 Co-Co prototype electric locomotive 89001 Avocet that had previously been briefly used by BR (in the end, the simpler Class 90 was adopted as a successor to classes 81-87). 89001 served mostly on the Leeds route until it failed in 2001.
[edit] Current fleet
| Class | Image | Type | Top speed | Number | Routes operated | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mph | km/h | ||||||
| InterCity 225 Mallard |  |
Carriages hauled/propelled by electric locomotive | 140 | 225 | 33 | East Coast Main Line | 1990 |
| InterCity 125 High Speed Train | |
Carriages hauled/propelled by two diesel-electric locomotives | 125 | 200 | 14 | East Coast Main Line | 1976 – 1982 |
[edit] Past fleet
| Class | Type | Built | Withdrawn | Notes |
| Class 89 Avocet | Electric locomotive | 1986 | 2001 | Owned by AC Locomotive Group |
| Class 373/3 Regional Eurostar | Electric multiple unit | 1993 | December 2005 | Leased to SNCF, 2007 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ InterCity East Coast Consultation Document (PDF) p. 7. Department for Transport. Retrieved on January 22, 2007.
- ^ Pagnamenta, Robin. "GNER to lose £1.3bn East Coast railway franchise", Times Online, 2006-12-15. Retrieved on December 15, 2006.
- ^ "GNER to surrender top train route", BBC, 2006-12-15. Retrieved on December 15, 2006.
- ^ http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1036082006
- ^ http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1831983,00.html
- ^ http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1829962,00.html
- ^ Rail Magazine, issue 546, various news items, "What now for GNER after East Coast court defeat?"
- ^ Modern Railways, September 2006, Informed Sources
- ^ http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1881650,00.html
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6378159.stm
[edit] External links
| Preceded by InterCity As part of British Rail |
Operator of East Coast Main Line franchise 1996-present |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Domestic: | Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains1 - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - Grand Central2 - GNER - Heathrow Connect Hull Trains - Island Line3 - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline1 - Northern Rail Northern Ireland Railways4 - 'one' - Silverlink1 - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains - TransPennine Express - Virgin Trains (VWC - VXC1) |
|---|---|
| International: | Enterprise4 - Eurostar |
| Airport Link: | Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express5 |
| Sleeper: | Caledonian Sleeper6 - Night Riviera7 |
| 1 Ends November 2007 - 2 Starts 20 May 2007 - 3 Operated by South West Trains 4 Operated on the Irish railway network - 5 Operated by 'one' - 6 Operated by First ScotRail 7 Operated by First Great Western |
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| Future passenger train operators and franchises in Great Britain | |
|---|---|
| New Franchises: | Cross Country1 - East Midlands1 - InterCity East Coast - London Overground1 West Midlands1 |
| Proposed open-access operators: |
Glasgow Trains2 - Grand Union2 - Humber & City2 - Wrexham & Shropshire3 |
| 1 Starts November 2007 - 2 Proposed - 3 Awaiting Approval | |
