Statement re TSGN Rail Franchise

23 May 2014 FIRSTGROUP PLC ("FirstGroup" or "The Group") STATEMENT RE: THAMESLINK SOUTHERN AND GREAT NORTHERN RAIL FRANCHISE In response to the announcement by the Department for Transport today,FirstGroup is disappointed that it has been unsuccessful in its bid for the newThameslink, Southern and Great Northern rail franchise. FirstGroup has operated the First Capital Connect franchise, on the Thameslinkand Great Northern sections of the route, since 2006 and during that time has: • been a key partner in delivering the £6.5bn Thameslink Programme, along withNetwork Rail and Transport for London. Milestones achieved include the first12-carriage trains to operate on the route, the extension of Blackfriarsplatforms across the Thames, redevelopment of Farringdon station and extensionof platforms across the network. • increased passenger volumes to 118m in 2013/14, a 37% increase from 86m ayear when the current franchise began. • introduced 144 new vehicles onto the Thameslink route delivering an extra14,500 seats at the busiest times of the day, and doubled the number ofcross-London rush hour trains from 7/8 per hour to 15 trains per hour betweenSt. Pancras International and Blackfriars. • introduced more than 12,500 extra seats at the busiest times of the day onGreat Northern services, to increase peak time capacity by more than 22%. • increased overall passenger satisfaction scores since the start of thefranchise, including increased scores in the latest independent survey byPassenger Focus for areas including station upkeep and how well the companydealt with disruption. • transformed communications with customers - including 24/7 Twitter service,free SMS and email feed alerts as well as a brand new website with mobilecapability and real time feeds. Commenting, Tim O'Toole, FirstGroup's Chief Executive, said: "I am disappointed that we will not be operating the new franchise and takingthe Thameslink Programme on to its next stage. We submitted a strong bid whichwould have delivered high quality services for passengers, value for taxpayersand an economic return for shareholders. We are tremendously proud to haveoperated a significant part of this network over the past eight years throughour First Capital Connect franchise, and of the many improvements we havedelivered during that time. I would like to thank all of our employees whoworked tirelessly to deliver improved services for our customers during aperiod of great change on the network. "We shall continue to operate First Capital Connect until the new franchisebegins on 14 September 2014, and during that time we look forward to continuingimprovements to our trains, stations and customer service training. We shallwork with the new operator as they prepare to take on these crucialresponsibilities for the route." "Today's news does not alter our stated medium term targets. Going forward theGroup is currently shortlisted for a number of other rail franchises and willparticipate in a range of competitions with the objective of achieving earningson a par with the last round of franchising, with an acceptable level of risk." Notes to Editors: About FirstGroup plc FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK andNorth America. With revenues of more than £6.7 billion and around 117,000employees, we transport more than 2.5 billion passengers every year. Each ofour 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 operate approximately aquarter of the UK passenger rail network, carrying more than 330 millionpassengers a year. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasinglycongested world, keeping people moving and communities prospering. Visit our website at: www.firstgroup.com Contacts at FirstGroup: Rachael Borthwick, Group Corporate Communications DirectorFaisal Tabbah, Group Investor Relations ManagerStuart Butchers, Group Media Relations ManagerTel: +44 20 7725 3354 Contacts at Brunswick PR:

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