The transport committee is to launch an inquiry into the InterCity East Coast rail franchise.

The committee said there were serious questions to be asked, saying they would look at the best way forward and the wider implications for the rail franchising system.

Earlier this month, Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, announced that the Stagecoach/Virgin franchise would only be able to continue in its current form for a “very small number of months”.

It is the third time the East Coast franchise operator has failed: GNER was stripped of the franchise in 2007, and the Department for Transport seized the franchise from National Express in 2009 when it defaulted on its payments.



Lilian Greenwood, chair of the committee, said: “This failure – not once, but three times – has drawn criticism from all corners. There are serious questions to be asked of the train operator, Network Rail and ministers, and the transport committee intends to ask them.

“The failure of the East Coast franchise has wider implications for rail franchising and the competitiveness of the current system.”“

A Stagecoach Group spokesman said: “Virgin Trains East Coast is a well-run, profitable railway and we are continuing to meet our contractual commitments, as we have done throughout the past 21 years in operating train services on behalf of the government.

“We are progressing our £140m investment plans, topping franchise league tables for customer satisfaction and delivering 30% higher payments to the taxpayer than when the route was in public ownership, and we are happy to assist the work of the transport committee.”