Inter City Railways, which is a consortium of Stagecoach and Virgin, has won its £3.3 billion bid to run East Coast rail services for the next eight years.

Its promises for the network include more seats, new trains and extra services. There are plans to run 23 additional trains every day between London and Bradford, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Harrogate, Leeds, Shipley, Stirling, York and Lincoln.

New direct routes are also expected to Sunderland, Huddersfield, Middlesbrough, Dewsbury and Thornaby.

The consortium has committed £140 million to improving the overall travel experience. This money will be used to improve on-board services such as catering and wi-fi, as well as increasing numbers of self-service ticket machines and refurbishing ticket offices.

The chief executive of Stagecoach Group, Martin Griffiths, said: “A passion for customers, employees and the community is at the heart of our plans for the franchise. We want to build on the quality and pride of the people who will be joining our team.”