Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the cost of redesigning and replacing rolling stock livery with LNER branding.
The cost of rebranding the exterior and interior of London North Eastern Railway’s current fleet is estimated to be £447,773.00. This equates to £9077.00 per train. The rebranding has begun and will be completed as soon as practicable alongside the regular maintenance schedule for the fleet.
The Virgin brand was used under licence by the previous train operating company on the East Coast. It was therefore necessary to design and develop a new brand which the Department has the right to use, and without an ongoing cost.