Nightspeed's finances have been shaky in the last few months and when they finally slipped into administration Amtrak saw it as the perfect chance to capitalise on its previous discussions with Nightspeed and acquire the parcel company.

There is no news yet on the future of Nightspeed's 900 staff.

Amtrak's acquisition of Nightspeed is just the latest in a series of mergers and buy outs in the UK express parcels sector, leading towards inevitable consolidation in the UK road transport industry. Recent deals have included the acquisition of Lynx by UPS, and before that Securicor Omega by DHL.