Eversheds Sutherland and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) are advising on the renationalisation of the East Coast Main Line, which will see the rail service brought back under government control until 2020.

The train line runs services from London to Scotland and has been overseen by joint operators Stagecoach and Virgin Rail since 2015.

The companies agreed to pay £3.3bn to run the service for eight years under a joint venture, but transport secretary Chris Grayling recently admitted that Virgin and Stagecoach "got their bids wrong", and stand to lose nearly £200m under their their contracted commitments.

Eversheds Sutherland is advising the Department of Transport (DfT) on the renationalisation, after winning a contract worth £500,000 last September to advise it on operational and strategic aspects of the east coast service.

The firm's team is being led by commercial partner Anne Harris, who specialises in the laws relating to railways.

HSF is understood to be advising longstanding clients Stagecoach and Virgin Rail.

In 2012, HSF and Eversheds acted for Virgin Rail and the DfT respectively when the government scrapped its decision to award control of the West Coast Main Line franchise to rival operator FirstGroup. HSF won a legal challenge on behalf of Virgin Rail Group after it lost the bid to continue operating the service, with the DfT subsequently backtracking on its plans.

Both firms are also advising HS2 Limited, the company responsible for developing the new HS2 railway, which will provide a high-speed link between London, the Midlands and the north of England.

HSF declined to comment.