EAST Coast Main Line operator GNER said last night that it would not be affected by the financial troubles facing its parent company.

GNER parent company Sea Containers, which is based in Bermuda, revealed earlier this week that its delayed 2005 accounts would include a paragraph raising substantial doubt about Sea Containers' ability to continue as a going concern.

However, a spokesman for GNER said yesterday: "We have separate banking agreements and we are getting on with the business of running the railways, which we are doing very successfully."

Rail industry experts say GNER's East Coast rail franchise could be called into doubt if its parent company fell into the hands of creditors, as the Department for Transport will want to establish that GNER remains financially robust.

However, there is also speculation that GNER would be sold before that would happen.

It could be of interest to rival train operating companies, including Virgin Rail, First Group and National Express.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said last night: "We monitor the finances of all franchisees and we are in regular contact with GNER.

"It is possible for the ownership of a train operator to change and, if it does, we have to approve that."

He said the worst-case scenario of a rail operator collapsing would lead to the Government operating services until a new franchisee was found.

Consumer rail watchdog Passenger Focus said it had received assurances from GNER that the delivery of its service would not be affected by the difficulties of its parent company.

GNER chief executive Sir Christopher Garnett has said that passengers should not be concerned by the reports of Sea Containers' financial difficulties and that he was "totally confident" about its future.

The company was awarded the lucrative London to Edinburgh rail franchise last year for another ten years, after pledging to pay £1.3bn to the taxpayer in premiums over the life of the franchise - a figure many believed was too high.

But passenger numbers have fallen since the July 7 bombings in London and revenue could fall further when Grand Central starts rival services to the North-East.