Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced the creation of a new bidding process for the running of the East Coast London to Edinburgh rail line.

The move away from public sector control follows the government’s takeover of the rail line in 2009, after National Express pulled out of the process during the height of the recession.

The management and maintenance contract for tender is expected to select a winning bid by February 2015.

The new tendering process will follow a new approach after the public procurement failing of the West Coast rail franchise procurement process, which resulted in significant losses for bidders.

Unions have been quick to attack the new procurement process, with Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, criticising public sector privatisation, saying: “The £50m West Coast line fiasco revealed that private franchises are a shambles.”

The procurement process for a new franchise for the West Coast rail service has now been delayed until April 2017, with Virgin Trains continuing to run the service in an interim deal.

Patrick McLoughlin said: "This programme is a major step in delivering tangible improvements to services, providing long-term certainty to the market and supporting our huge programme of rail investment.”

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