NORTH-East MPs and union chiefs have reacted angrily to reports that the East Coast Main Line is to be taken over by a consortium largely owned by the French state.

The Department for Transport is expected to confirm this week that a consortium of Eurostar and French transport company Keolis – which is 70 per cent owned by state-run French rail company SNCF – is the winning bidder of the East Coast franchise.

Opponents of the move to reprivatise East Coast have pointed out that the public-sector run company which currently operates the line has made big returns to the Treasury during its tenure.

Easington MP Grahame Morris accused David Cameron of being happy to let foreign state-owned national rail networks acquire UK railways and run them as private companies.

He added: “The Prime Minister is against the UK state having any involvement in our own railways.

“This means British rail users and taxpayers are subsidising German and French commuters and we have higher rail fares and worse trains – this is sheer madness.”

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman organised a petition calling on the line to be kept in public hands, or at the very least the public operator being allowed to bid for the franchise.

She said: “My constituents would be disappointed to learn that a company owned by the French Government is to benefit from the profits that they contribute towards with their not inconsiderable fares.”

The MP said that while it would be virtually impossible to cancel the contract of the winning private operator, Labour would be minded to allow the public sector to compete to run the service if the new operator was unable to fulfil the contract, as has happened twice before.

Trade unions have also criticised the impending announcement, expected later this week.

Neil Foster, policy and campaigns officer for the Northern TUC, said: “East Coast Main Line has made £1bn for British taxpayers and is living proof of the benefits of public ownership.

“Yet the Coalition ministers are so ideologically obsessed they won’t even listen to their own supporters who prefer it to remain in public ownership. The French and the Belgians must think we’ve lost the plot.”

A win for Eurostar/Keolis would mean disappointment for the other two bidders – FirstGroup and a joint venture between Virgin Trains and transport company Stagecoach.

The Department for Transport says it has considered value for money, long-term benefits for communities and improved services for passengers and local businesses, and not just the return to the taxpayer.

FACT FILE

  • A consortium made up of Keolis (UK) Ltd and Eurostar International Ltd.
  • Keolis is the lead partner with a 70 per cent stake, while Eurostar owns 30 per cent.
  • Keolis is 70 per cent owned by French state-owned rail operator SNCF.
  • SNCF also has a 55 per cent share of Eurostar, with the British Government, through HM Treasury, having a 40 per cent stake.
  • The remaining five per cent is owned by the Belgium Government’s SNCB.
  • Keolis already works with other partners to operate four UK rail franchises, including the TransPennine Express (TPE) network which it run as a joint venture with FirstGroup.
  • Keolis is bidding to take over the TPE franchise on its own and has been named as one of three shortlisted operators.
  • Keolis has a 35 per cent stake in Newcastle-based Govia Ltd, with 65 per cent owned by Go-Ahead.
  • Govia is one of three firms shortlisted to run the Northern Rail franchise.
  • Eurostar runs the high-seed service between London, Paris and Brussels. All its trains travel through the Channel Tunnel.