THE dawn of the latest era in the operation of the East Coast Main Line has arrived with the kind of promises normally reserved for power-hungry politicians on the approach to a general election.

The line is now in the joint hands of Virgin and Stagecoach and, naturally, we are being promised all kinds of improvements to services and facilities.

David Horne, managing director of Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC), was in particularly optimistic mood as he travelled up the line today, insisting that we are all in for an exciting ride in the years ahead.

Quicker journey times between Newcastle and London, free wifi at stations, more car parking spaces, smarter ticketing arrangements, and – at long last – direct trains between Middlesbrough and London by 2020 are all part of the package.

Well, if you can't be upbeat at the start of the journey, when can you be? But, of course, it will be at the end of VTEC's tenure that passengers will judge whether the shift from the public sector to a private operator was justified.

Last week, we welcomed the Government's hard-won pledge to make bidders for the Northern rail franchise replace the out-dated fleet of Pacer trains, among a host of other improvements. Today, we welcome VTEC's list of promises for the East Coast Main Line – but delivery, both nationally and regionally, is a great deal harder than making the right noises.

The big unanswered question for the people of this region, who rely on the East Coast Main Line, is how much the delivery of those promises will cost in fares.