London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a British train operating company owned by the Department for Transport (DfT). LNER operates the InterCity East Coast franchise providing long-distance inter-city services on the East Coast Main Line from London King’s Cross. LNER’s primary destinations are Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. LNER manages 11 stations itself and its trains call at 55 stations in total.
The company is owned by the Department for Transport (DfT). LNER took over the InterCity East Coast franchise in June 2018, after the previous privately owned operator Virgin Trains East Coast returned it to the government following sustained financial difficulties. The DfT intended for the company to provide services until a new public-private partnership could be established in 2020. In July 2019, it was announced that LNER had been given a direct award to run services beyond 28 June 2020 until 2025, making it the longest franchise on the East Coast Main Line since GNER