GNER has submitted a formal complaint to the European Commission, asking it to investigate the charging regime imposed by the Office of Rail Regulation on users of the rail network in Britain.

Under the regime, only operators of franchised passenger services contribute to Network Rail’s fixed costs of running the rail network, while open access operators do not and only contribute to the variable costs of the network. GNER believes that the charging regime gives an unfair and unlawful state aid to open access operators and is contrary to the EU Treaty.

The company estimates that the charging regime will result in the East Coast franchise losing up to £9.7m a year. Janet Huck, GNER’s legal director, said:  “We welcome competition and already operate on one of the most competitive travel routes in Britain. We have nothing against new entrants on the route, but competition should be on a level playing field. “The current regime is unfair and will place franchise operators at a competitive disadvantage compared with open access operators who compete on the same track for the same passenger revenue. “The commercial consequences of this unfairness are serious, so we have little option but to pursue further this important matter of principle.”