East Coast rail firm scrapes profit

The company with responsibility for running the East Coast Main Line between London to Scotland, since National Express handed the rail franchise back to the Government, has reported a profit and 3 per cent boost inpassenger numbers in its first year of state ownership.

Directly Operated Railways (DOR) said a turnaround was under way but warned it was still fixing problems it inherited. DOR said that when it took over in November 2009 staff morale was low, investment had ceased and key engineering skills had been "allowed to evaporate". DOR, which aims to hand the company back to private ownership by the end of 2012, posted a net profit of £1.2m in the nine months to 31 March on turnover of £234m.

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