South Yorkshire train firm to lose Government contract after 'getting its numbers wrong'

A train operating company which serves passengers in South Yorkshire is to lose its Government franchise.
Stock photo.Stock photo.
Stock photo.

Stagecoach, which operates East Coast Mainline through Doncaster, will have its contract terminated 'within months'.

Announcing the decision in Parliament today, transport secretary Chris Grayling said the company had 'got its numbers wrong'.

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Speaking in the House of Commons, he revealed that the firm was about to lose £200m - more than a fifth of its market value.

However, he said there would be 'no bailout' for the troubled company.

Stagecoach - which operates trains on the line in partnership with Virgin - was originally awarded the contract up until 2023.

However, this had already been cut short once and has now been curtailed further.

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Urgent attempts to find a new company to operate the franchise had not yet born fruit, he added.

However, he stressed that the day-to-day operation of the service would remain unaffected.

One option for maintaining the service, he added, could be to bring the franchise back under government control.