Commenting on the fact the government has been forced to take the East Coast Rail line into public ownership former Business Secretary and Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable, said:

“The government cannot keep bailing out private companies that run rail franchises.

“We need to turn this into an opportunity to keep one rail franchise under public ownership so that private sector franchises can be judged – and potentially rewarded or punished – against that performance. We shouldn’t be idealogues, but instead be looking at moving towards a mixed model of ownership.”