£634,000 cost of rebranding East Coast Main Line trains
Mar 17 2010 by William Green, The Journal
http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/03/17/634-000-cost-of-rebranding-east-coast-line-61634-26047472/
THE bill for rebranding trains on the East Coast Main Line after services were nationalised has run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has revealed that the cost for changing uniforms, logos on trains and even the website and stationary was £634,842.17 after previous private operator National Express hit financial trouble last year.
National Express paid £295,652.50 toward the bill under a contractual requirement to remove their branding from services leaving new state-owned operator East Coast to pick up the rest of the tab.
And further rebranding has not been ruled out by the DfT in its response to a freedom of information request. It said any further changes were up to East Coast bosses.
Sir Alan Beith, Liberal Democrat MP for Berwick, said: If the Government was doing what we wanted it to do and keep the East Coast line in the public sector for a reasonable time, then it might have been justified. But seeing they are trying to sell it as quickly as possible, it is money wasted that could have been spent on the railways, on services for passengers.
But Tyne Bridge MP David Clelland, a member of the Commons transport committee, said: I think that is buying the railway on the cheap, it is a bargain.
The DfT revealed that £255,685 was spending on interiors and exteriors of trains, while uniforms cost £44,400.
More than £60,000 went on stationary, while just under £100,000 was spent on station signage and buildings such as offices and first class lounges. Some £30,000 was spending overhauling the routes website.
In its response to the Freedom of Information request, the DfT said: In the case of this transfer, the re-branding has been achieved as efficiently as possible to minimise the additional cost. In all respects, East Coast has taken a minimalistic approach to branding in recognition of the high potential cost involved and in appreciation of onward transfer to a successor operator within two years from now. An example of this minimalistic approach is where appropriate the National Express lettering has been removed from National Express East Coast wording leaving just East Coast.
In addition, the design and the majority of the creative work supporting the East Coast brand has been developed in-house from existing resources from within the East Coast mobilisation team removing the need for excessive creative agency costs.
A DfT spokesman said: East Coast sought out the best deals available during the re-branding process to ensure value for money for taxpayers and to keep costs even lower not everything was re-branded. The East Coast brand was created to equip the company with the tools it needs to effectively promote and encourage more passengers to use its services.
