TRAIN operator GNER has joined forces with a Hong Kong company in a bid take over the running of some of this country's busiest commuter routes, it was announced yesterday.

The MTR Corporation, which operates the Hong Kong Metro, signed an agreement with GNER and will make a bid for the South Eastern Trains franchise.

The Integrated Kent Franchise is expected to start next year and will take over services presently operated by SE Trains, as well as high-speed services on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from 2008/2009.

SE Trains has been operating services across Kent and London for more than a year following the sacking of previous operator Connex.

MTR has a 29 per cent stake in the partnership with GNER, which runs train services on the East Coast Main Line from London to the North-East and to Scotland.

The train operator is also bidding to renew this franchise.

The partnership between GNER and MTR will bid for the franchise under the name Great South Eastern Railway.

Christopher Garnett, chief executive of GNER said: "MTR is a world-class operation with an unrivalled expertise in delivering a safe, efficient, reliable and high- quality railway in one of the most heavily populated parts of the globe.

"We have been working with them for some months and are pleased to deepen our partnership with today's announcement.

"The world-leading skills of MTR in running densely timetabled services on heavily utilised routes will perfectly compliment GNER's high speed experience."

The MTR system carries more than 2.4 million passengers a day, making it one of the most heavily used railways in the world, and its reliability is 99.9 per cent.

GNER, which is owned by Sea Containers, carries more than 15 million passengers a year on a 920-mile route between London King's Cross, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, the North-East and Scotland and employs more than 3,200 staff.

Unions have been campaigning to keep SE Trains under public control, saying reliability had improved in the past year. Another four companies are expected to bid for the new franchise.