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Cost of London to West Yorkshire rail rebranding revealed
The bill for rebranding after the London to West Yorkshire rail service was renationalised came to £634,842.
A Freedom of Information request has revealed the cost of changing the logos on trains, the uniforms of staff, signs at stations and marketing material for the East Coast Mainline.
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National Express, which lost the franchise last year, contributed 295,652 but the taxpayer was left to pay 339,190.
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The line was renationalised by the government following the dramatic collapse of the franchise last summer.
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In 2007 National Express won the franchise and agreed to pay the Government 1.4 bn to run the line, between Edinburgh and London via Leeds, until 2015.
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The firm walked away from the loss-making route after failing to alter the terms of its franchise agreement.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has revealed that 255,685 was spent on changing the interiors and exteriors of the trains, while new uniforms cost 44,400.
Just under 100,000 was spent on station signs and buildings, including offices and first class lounges. More than 60,000 was spent on stationary and printing, including leaflets and posters, and 30,000 on revamping thewebsite.
Rebranding the plasma information screens at the East Coast Mainline headquarters in York cost 900 alone.
The branding is likely to be changed again when the franchise is transferred back into private hands within two years. The hunt for a firm is to be launched this year.
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'." It added that most of the creative work had been done in-house to minimise costs.
A DfT spokesman added: "East Coast sought out the best deals available during the re-branding process to ensure value for money for taxpayers and – not everything was re-branded."
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