Mark and other Scottish Labour MPs have welcomed action by the Government to protect services on the East Coast Main Line by taking the line into state ownership. 

National Express is expected to default on the payments it is due to make under the terms of the franchise and had been trying to renegotiate the terms.

The Government took a stand on principle arguing that it was wrong for companies to expect to reap the benefits of contracts when times are good, only to walk away from them when times become more difficult.

Mark has recently raised the future of the East Coast Line in Parliament and said that the line should be taken back into public ownership as part of a major rethink of the way our railways are run.

Mark commented:

"The Government has taken the right action for consumers. This swift action has helped protect the position for rail passengers.

"As a regular on trains between Scotland and London, I know the chaos that would have been caused if action had not been taken quickly.

"We need to increase the use of rail and see further developments on the route. We must use the opportunity of public ownership to increase passenger numbers and firm up the future of the line."

Former Transport minister Tom Harris, MP for Glasgow South, also said:

"Train Operating Companies cannot bid for a franchise, agreeing the amount of government subsidy or premium for the length of the contract, and then demand that the agreement is thrown out of the window when they can’t deliver.

"It’s not the system that has failed on the East Coast Main Line, but National Express. They, along with three other companies, submitted bids for the franchise and each one of them concluded independently that they could afford to pay the Department for Transport a premium of more than a billion pounds over the length of the franchise. That’s money from the private company to the Department for Transport's railways budget, money that is used exclusively for reinvestment in the railways.

"Lord Adonis was absolutely right in refusing to renegotiate: his tough stance has sent a signal to every other train company that if they have overbid for a particular franchise, they either stand by their financial commitments or they suffer the same fate of National Express."