National Express East Coast

National Express East Coast was the name under which the train operating company NXEC Trains Ltd operated the "InterCity East Coast" rail franchise, which includes services in England and Scotland along the East Coast Main Line. NXEC Trains Ltd was a subsidiary of National Express Group. National Express took over the franchise from the Great North Eastern Railway (GNER).
In 2009, the company obtained significant losses and decided to bail on the franchise, leaving the government to directly operate the railway under the brand East Coast, and the government in turn decided to terminate National Express's other franchise National Express East Anglia 3 years early. 6 years on, National Express only operates one franchise, from the nine in operated in 2003. It remains to date only the second time an operator has defaulted on its franchise.