THE battle for one of the country's most important rail franchises has hotted up after Virgin Rail entered the ring.

Reports in the national Press yesterday said Sir Richard Branson's company would bid for the prestigious East Coast Main Line route, which links the region with London and Edinburgh.

At present, it is operated by Great North Eastern Railway (GNER), which is based in York and is a subsidiary of transport group Sea Containers, but its contract expires in April 2005.

Virgin already operates the West Coast franchise. If it emerges triumphant on the East Coast as well, it would give Sir Richard a virtual monopoly on rail services between London and Scotland.

Despite fierce competition from Virgin the last time the franchise came up, GNER eventually won a two-year extension to its seven-year contract.

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) looks set this time to award a franchise lasting between seven and ten years.

While no formal bids have yet been submitted, GNER has already stated its intention to retain the franchise.

Others who could put in offers include First Group which, with French company Keolis, recently took over the transpennine Express franchise, and coach operator National Express.

One of the key issues is expected to be how the bidders plan to replace rolling stock.

Virgin's bid is unlikely to include a resubmission of its ambitious plans to create a French-style 200mph route to run next to the existing rail line.

The plans for the high-speed lines have since been put into a separate study by the SRA, despite the fact that proposals for a £1bn upgrade of the existing East Coast Main Line route were shelved after Railtrack became Network Rail.