THE Virgin Rail Group last night unveiled its plan for the future of the East Coast line - changes that will see one of the biggest upheavals in the history of the railways.

Proposals include a new East Coast rail line, which the Virgin Group says will serve communities bypassed by the current operators, and a new direct Middlesbrough to London service.

The Virgin Rail Group, comprising Virgin and Stagecoach plc, announced its intention to improve North-East rail services, mainly by cutting journey times and increasing the number of trains operating.

The details of the bid are already with the shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SSRA), with Virgin committing itself to improving reliability, upgrading station facilities and providing a totally rebuilt train fleet.

Among the other details in its bid for the franchise, which will run for 20 years from 2003, are:

l Operating 200mph trains on a new, high-speed East Coast line;

l A station and interchange to be built at Washington, to serve Sunderland, with the Tyne and Wear Metro extended to meet the new station.

l Reducing journey times, with Darlington-to-London cut from two hours 21 minutes to one hour 51 minutes.

l A direct service to link Newcastle with Cambridge and Stanstead Airport.

l The region to be served by a new service linking Edinburgh to Nottingham, Leicester and Birmingham.

Virgin Rail is going head-to-head against GNER, the award-winning operator that currently runs the Edinburgh to London line.

GNER proposals for the line include a £1.3bn package of improvements to convince thousands of people to switch from road to rail by developing a new generation of high-speed services.

Alongside a fleet of new tilting trains, GNER plans to dramatically upgrade its stations on the flagship link between the North-East and London.

Virgin chairman Sir Richard Branson said the group's plans would deliver a first-class service on the East Coast line

He said: "This is truly a proposal that will deliver a 21st Century railway for the East Coast mainline.

"We have listened to what people want and we aim to give the cities and counties served by the East Coast the train service they deserve. A new high speed line is the only option."