19th Sep 2006 08:22
Stagecoach Group PLC19 September 2006 Stagecoach Group 19 September 2006 STAGECOACH GROUP WELCOMES DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT ANNOUNCEMENT ON EAST MIDLANDSAND CROSS COUNTRY RAIL FRANCHISES Stagecoach Group plc ("The Group") today welcomed the Department for Transport("DfT") announcement of shortlisted bidders for the new inter-city passengerrail franchises. The Group is one of four pre-qualified bidders for the East Midlands franchise.Virgin Rail Group ("VRG"), in which Stagecoach Group has a 49% shareholding, isone of four shortlised bidders for the new Cross Country franchise. Bothfranchises will commence in November 2007. Ian Dobbs, Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group's Rail Division, said: "We aredelighted to be given the opportunity to develop customer-focused bids that candeliver value to our shareholders. "Stagecoach has an excellent track-record of high operational performance,innovation, value-for-money and increasing levels of customer satisfaction. "The East Midlands franchise is an excellent opportunity to expand our railportfolio by delivering improved services for passengers in a region of the UKwith significant growth potential. "VRG is in a strong position to build on its success in transforming theexisting Cross Country franchise by further driving up performance, improvingcustomer satisfaction and attracting even more new passengers to the country'struly national rail franchise. "We look forward to working closely and with local stakeholders and the DfTduring the franchising process to maximise the opportunities for growth fromthese rail networks." ENDS For further information, please contact:Steve Stewart, Head of Media and Public Affairs, Stagecoach GroupTel: 01738 442111 or 07764 774 680 Notes to Editors Stagecoach Group is a leading international transport company with extensive busand rail operations in the UK and North America. The Group operates South West Trains, the UK's biggest commuter rail franchise,which runs nearly 1700 trains a day in the south-west of England out of LondonWaterloo. The Group also runs Island Line, the country's smallest railfranchise. Stagecoach is shortlisted for the new 10-year South Western franchise, whichcombines the existing South West Trains and Island Line franchises and runs fromFebruary 2007. The East Midlands franchise will be formed from the current Midland Mainlinefranchise and regional services transferred from the current Central Trainsfranchise. It is planned that the franchise will run until 31 March 2015, thelast year and 4 months of which will be conditional upon achieving pre-setperformance targets. Virgin Rail Group is a joint venture between Stagecoach Group and the VirginGroup of Companies. VRG operates the existing Cross Country franchise and theWest Coast franchise. The new Cross Country franchise takes in services on the current Cross Countryfranchise as well as those transferred from the current Central Trainsfranchise. It is planned that the franchise will run until 31 March 2016, thelast 2 years and 4 months of which will be conditional upon achieving pre-setperformance targets. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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