The plans were detailed in an internal government briefing passed to the press by rail union RMT.

The document reveals that the government will run the franchise under the new name East Coast Main Line for at least 18 months - several months longer than originally expected.The government said that rail services would remain the same and profits would be returned to the public purse.

Solidarity has questioned why the nationalisation is seen only as a relatively short-term measure. Further it is concerned that no announcement has been made regarding the two other franchises run by National Express - C2C and East Anglia. The view of the Union is that National Express should be stripped of these franchises.Pat Harrington, General Secretary of Solidarity said:- "I worked on the ECML for many years under GNER.The nationalisation of the East Coast Main Line should be the first step towards the total public ownership and control of the railways."