Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the decision was taken to transfer Newcastle Central Station to Virgin East Coast rather than to Network Rail.

Claire Perry

The East Coast Franchise Agreement provided for the potential transfer of Newcastle Station to Network Rail. The decision to continue with the existing management arrangements of the stations was taken in late August 2015 following a period of negotiation between Virgin Trains East Coast and Network Rail.

The Department concluded that the best value to the public purse and passengers was to continue with the existing arrangements already in place at Newcastle rather than transfer the station.