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You'd have thought it was all silly enough already.

True, the sight of a failed rail franchise being shunted back to taxpayers isn't edifying.

But the internet seems to have found the cherry on top.

We learned today that the East Coast mainline will return to state control on June 24 in a "bailout" for Virgin Trains, which failed to make it work.

(The government says it's not a bailout, and Labour says it's not actually nationalised, so read this if you want to know more).

To calm the row with some glamour, the government is bringing back the London to Edinburgh route's historic name.

And London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) already has its own website, enticing us with a swooshing red set of train lines and the words "arriving soon".

But what's this? Scroll down, and you'll see a strangely familiar man under the words "customer information".

(Image: lnerailway)

There he is with his girlfriend, checking his phone and a map.

Who could they be? Tourists? A weekend break, perhaps?

And what is it about his facial hair that rings a bell?

Ah, that's right.

He's the man from the 'distracted boyfriend' meme.

(Image: Shutterstock)

The coincidence was spotted by eagle-eyed Twitter users, and it seems to check out.

A quick reverse image search shows the photo on LNER's website is taken by stock photographer Antonio Guillem.

Mr Guillem is the stock photographer behind the now-infamous 'distracted boyfriend, jealous girlfriend' shot.

His stock photo library shows the same couple in pretty much every situation you could imagine - sunbathing, laughing, lost and hugging by a tram.

Mr Guillem previously told WIRED he has mostly worked with the same three models to create stock photos.

"I didn’t even know what a meme is," he said.

Neither, it seems, does the government.