“Virgin Trains will be operating on both rail routes linking London and Scotland next year after being awarded the franchise for the reprivatised east coast main line. The new company running the London-Edinburgh trains will be Inter City Railways, a joint venture 90%-owned by Stagecoach with the trains branded Virgin Trains East Coast. Sir Richard Branson retains a 10% stake. … The Department for Transport said the franchise award would lead to 23 new services from London, including plans for direct links to Huddersfield, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, and more daily services on the route. Seat capacity will increase by 50%, with 65 new Intercity Express trains brought into service from 2018, cutting journey times from London to Edinburgh by 13 minutes.”

Guardian 27th November 2014 Read more here  BBC here.

DfT press release here; interactive map of new benefits  Secretary of State statement here.