GNER has fired a salvo at its competitors for the East Coast Main Line franchise by saying it has the edge when it comes to value for money and reliability.
The company, which is based in York, said it would deliver the best value for money for the taxpayer should it retain the contract to run services on the route.
It said it was paying back millions of pounds to the Government having previously been paid a large subsidy.
GNER also said that over the past six months its trains topped industry reliability ratings.
It is spending £30m to overhaul its electric train fleet - an improvement programme said to be the biggest of its kind in the UK.
Richard McClean, GNER's development director, said that value for money and reliability were part of the vision it was applying to its bid for the new franchise.
The preferred bidder for the new franchise will be named early next year from one of GNER, First Group, DSB (part of Danish railways) and a consortium of Stagecoach Group and Virgin Group Investments.
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