Alliance Rail Holdings has unveiled plans to resurrect the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) brand and launch a new ‘high-speed’ service between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh in 2016.

The company, which is owned by Arriva, has said it hopes to run nine-car Pendolino trains on the East Coast main line, cutting journey times from an average of four hours 20 minutes to three hours 43 minutes.

Announcing the plans, Alliance Rail Holdings said: “Passengers won’t have to wait 20 years for the completion of HS2 to see significant reductions in journey times to the North East and Scotland.”

A consultation will now be held with rail industry stakeholders before a formal application is submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

Network Rail will also have to confirm that there is adequate capacity to operate the service before trains will be able to run.