THE boss of East Coast rail bidder National Express has spelt out his vision for the future of the railway.

Chief executive Richard Bowker said the franchise operated by GNER was not perfect and said his company would put performance and reliability top of its list of priorities should it secure control of the line.

Mr Bowker, 41, is a former chairman and chief executive of the group previously in charge of Britain's railways -the now defunct Strategic Rail Authority -and former co-chairman of Virgin Rail, a rival bidder for the East Coast Main Line.

His company is one of four bidding to win the franchise after GNER's parent company, Sea Containers, hit financial difficulties. Speaking exclusively to The Northern Echo, Mr Bowker reiterated the company's previous pledge that it would retain GNER's headquarters in York.

He also confirmed that it would maintain half-hourly services between Newcastle and London, along with a similar frequency to and from Darlington.

He said National Express hoped to improve journey times and said it would be madness to cut train frequencies.

Asked about the company's plans for GNER's key stations, such as York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle, Mr Bowker would not comment in detail, but said: "We are passionate about making sure that stations generally are of a high quality. We are committed to making sure that every station we operate has good facilities, are clean, light and are properly presented."

Of GNER's franchise, Mr Bowker said: "This is perceived to be a great railway, but it has got issues and not everything is perfect.

"We would put performance and reliability on top of the list.

"We are absolutely committed to the new East Coast rail franchise and we know how important it is to the cities and the regions on it and how much they rely on it.

"The North-East in particular has done a fantastic job in delivering really dynamic growth, and the railway has been a fundamental part of that."

Despite leading Virgin's bid for the franchise in 1999, he said that afforded him no insider knowledge.

He said: "That was eight years ago, and the railway back then was a very different place."

Bids for the new franchise have to be submitted to the Government by Wednesday, June 6.

The winner will be announced over the summer, with services expected to start in November.

Other bidders are a consortium of Virgin/Stagecoach/GNER; Arriva; and First Trains