Statement re First TransPennine Express

20 March 2015 FIRSTGROUP PLC (`FirstGroup' or `the Group') Statement RE: FIRST TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS FirstGroup, the leading transport operator in the UK and North America, hassigned an agreement with the Department for Transport to operate the FirstTransPennine Express rail franchise for a further year. This deal means that the First TransPennine Express franchise will operatebeyond its current end date of 31 March 2015 to 1 April 2016. This date iscoterminous with the Government's anticipated start for the new TransPennineExpress franchise. The Group is shortlisted and looks forward to submitting abid later in the year to deliver significant improvements for customers andvalue for money for taxpayers. Today's award secures continuity of rail services for passengers over the nextyear and during this period First TransPennine Express will continue toprogress areas which passengers have identified as important such as theinstallation of free Wi-Fi to key stations across the route and an enhancedprogramme of customer service training. Commenting, Tim O'Toole, Chief Executive said: "We have an excellent track record at First TransPennine Express, whichprovides vital connections between key cities in the North of England andScotland. Since the franchise began, our experienced team have worked hard tointroduce brand new trains, refurbished stations, increased frequency andimproved journey times. As a result the service is more popular than ever, nowcarrying 26m passengers a year compared to 13m in 2004. Today's agreement withthe Department for Transport provides continuity and consistency for FirstTransPennine Express passengers over the next year, as we focus on continuingto deliver great customer service and introducing improvements ahead ofsubmitting our bid for the new franchise later in the Spring." Notes to editors * First TransPennine Express commenced operation in 2004 and operates on three main routes across the North of England, providing inter-city services between the North West, Yorkshire and the north east of England and into Scotland. * Capital investment since 2004: Investment in new trains £310m. Investment in stations £20m. Total: £330m. * From just after taking over the franchise in April 2004 to the latest figures, punctuality has increased by more than 15% to 90.3% (P11 2014/15). * Passenger journeys have doubled from 13m to 26m since 2004 driven by service and timetable innovation, improved yield management, customer service excellence and marketing including groundbreaking social media and mobile apps. In turn, we have cut taxpayer subsidy as a proportion of passenger revenue by 80% as a result and will cut it further with the direct award. * A brand new fleet was introduced in 2006 with 51 3-car Class 185 trains, and the fleet was expanded further in 2014, with a new electric fleet and timetable, which was enabled by the Government's Northern Hub electrification project. These new longer carriages were all in service on the Manchester-Scotland route by mid-2014, providing an improved timetable and in turn freeing up carriages to increase capacity on the popular Manchester-Leeds route. * First train operator in the country to achieve five star EFQM accreditation and won the BQF Excellence Award in 2014 - the first rail company ever to receive this. * Named European InterCity Operator of the Year at the European Rail Congress in November 2013 and 2012 Rail Business Awards Train Operator of the Year. * Investors in People Gold status achieved in 2015. * The franchise is a joint venture between FirstGroup (55%) and Keolis (45%). FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK andNorth America. With revenues of more than £6.7 billion in 2013/14 and around110,000 employees, we transported around 2.5 billion passengers last year. Eachof our five divisions is a leader in its field: First Student is the largestprovider of student transportation in North America with a fleet of around49,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest providers ofoutsourced transit management and contracting services in the US, whileGreyhound is the only national operator of scheduled intercity coach servicesacross North America. In the UK, FirstGroup is one of Britain's largest busoperators running a fleet of some 6,400 buses, and we are one of the largestoperators of passenger rail services in the UK, carrying more than 330 millionpassengers last year, with experience of running all types of rail network. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world...keeping people moving and communities prospering. Contacts at FirstGroup: Rachael Borthwick, Group Corporate Communications DirectorFaisal Tabbah, Group Investor Relations ManagerStuart Butchers, Group Head of MediaTel: +44 20 7725 3354 Contacts at Brunswick PR:

Michael Harrison / Andrew Porter, Tel: +44 20 7404 5959