Summary: London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a British rail operator. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT). The company’s name echoes that of the London and North Eastern Railway, one of the four major companies that operated between 1923 and 1948. In June 2018, LNER took over the InterCity East Coast franchise, after the previous private operator, Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC), returned it to the government following ongoing financial difficulties. In the UK, in the event of problems with a franchise, an Operator of Last Resort (OLR) was available to take over the operation. This is the case of LNER which, since the disappearance of the franchise system, now manages all the mainline trains between London, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. LNER is one of the operators that have purchased new rolling stock.

➤ Similar operators: Acela – Avanti West Coast – Flixtrain – Lumo – ÖBB Railjet – WESTbahn