 The company refurbished the British Rail Mark 4 "Mallard" rolling stock used for long-distance services from King's Cross and the inauguration of the new-look trains took place in the presence of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in 2003.GNER successfully re-bid for the franchise in 2005 but surrendered it the following year.National Express East Coast took over the franchise in late 2007 after an interim period when trains ran under a management contract.