19th Sep 2006 09:46
National Express Group PLC19 September 2006 19 September 2006 National Express Group PLC ("the company") Confirmed short-listed bidder for the East Midlands and New Cross Country rail franchises Following today's announcement by the Department for Transport ("DfT"), NationalExpress Group ("the Group"), one of the UK's major train operators, is pleasedto announce that it has been short-listed by the DfT for the new East Midlandsand New Cross Country franchises. These two new franchises, which have beenremapped from the existing Cross Country, Silverlink County, Midland Mainlineand Central Trains franchises, will be formally awarded next year and arescheduled to commence in November 2007. Moving forward, the Group looks forward to receipt of the invitation to tenderdocuments which are expected within the next month. Completed bids are expectedto be submitted to the DfT in February next year. Commenting on today's news, Richard Bowker, Chief Executive, National ExpressGroup said: "We are delighted to have made the shortlists for these newfranchises. We are very proud of what we have achieved in our Midlandsfranchises - Central Trains, Midland Mainline and Silverlink County culminatingin Midland Mainline being Britain's most reliable high speed intercity railway." "The reorganisation of a large slice of the UK rail network to form EastMidlands and the New Cross Country network provides an exciting opportunity tomake rail the mode of choice for ever increasing numbers of customers. As partof our bid we are developing exciting and innovative ideas that will set evenhigher standards for customer service and value for money. We look forward tosubmitting our bids." - ENDS - Notes for Editors • National Express Group operates a mix of inter-city, rural, commuter andairport services. Its train brands include c2c, Central Trains, Gatwick Express,Midland Mainline, 'one', Silverlink County and Silverlink Metro. • The new East Midlands franchise, to commence in November 2007, willcomprise the whole of the current Midland Mainline franchise linking London withLeicester, Nottingham, Derby, and Sheffield, and a portion of the Central Trainsfranchise covering Liverpool - Nottingham - Norwich, local Nottingham services,and rural regional services in the East Midlands and Lincolnshire. The newfranchise will run for seven years, four months and 20 days. • New Cross Country, to commence in November 2007 will include the currentCross Country franchise with the exception of Birmingham - Glasgow/Edinburgh viaCarlisle, Manchester - Glasgow/Edinburgh via Carlisle and Reading to Brightonservices. It will also include two of the current Central Trains Citylinkservices: Birmingham-Stansted Airport and Nottingham-Birmingham-Cardiff. Thefranchise will run for eight years and four months. • National Express Group is one of four short-listed bidders who has beeninvited to tender for the London Rail Concession by Transport for London. Bidswill be submitted in October 2006. In June the Group submitted a joint bid forthe South Western rail franchise with MTR Corporation Limited. • In early September, Midland Mainline picked up the highly covetedPassenger Operator of the Year award at the National Rail Awards. MML beat offsix competitors for the title at the awards which celebrate excellence andachievement in the rail industry. For further information, please contact: Nicola Marsden/Georgina ParkesNational Express Group PLC 020 7529 2000 Andrew Dowler/Ben FosterFinancial Dynamics 020 7831 3113 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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