SCOTTISH transport companies FirstGroup and Stagecoach will battle it out for the new East Midlands rail franchise, along with Deutsche Bahn-owned Arriva, it was revealed yesterday.
The three transport groups have made it through to the shortlist for the new franchise for East Midlands, a network that has been operated by Perth-based Stagecoach since 2007.
FirstGroup is bidding for the new franchise, which is due to begin in November 2018, through a joint venture with FS Italiane Group’s Trenitalia UK operation.
Stagecoach and FirstGroup set out their stalls yesterday, in the wake of the shortlist announcement by the Department for Transport, as they prepare to draw up final bids for the franchise.
Aberdeen-based FirstGroup has been trying to expand its rail operations again following its loss of the major ScotRail franchise in 2015 in a bidding battle with Dutch operator Abellio. FirstGroup runs the Great Western Railway, the TransPennine Express franchise that includes the Glasgow to Manchester Airport route, and Hull Trains.
Steve Montgomery, managing director of FirstGroup’s First Rail operation and former boss of ScotRail, said: “Both ourselves and Trenitalia have extensive expertise of running commuter, regional and long-distance services such as those that make up the East Midlands franchise.
“We have a strong track record in delivering continued modernisation and investment, alongside industry partners, through our rail operating companies Great Western Railway, TransPennine Express and [National Transport Awards] rail operator of the year Hull Trains.”
He added: “Trenitalia’s knowledge will add further depth and understanding as we develop our proposals to deliver passenger benefits that take full advantage of the significant investment that government and the industry are making in the region’s rail infrastructure. We look forward to reviewing the franchise contract details and submitting an innovative and value-for-money bid which will keep people moving and communities prospering across the East Midlands.”
Barbara Morgante, chief executive of Trenitalia, said: “Trenitalia is proud and ready to bring all its competencies to the partnership, both from a technical and commercial standpoint, developed in the highly-competitive Italian market.”
The East Midlands franchise includes intercity and regional passenger services.
Stagecoach operates around 470 train services per day on the East Midlands network, and the franchise’s annual passenger numbers total around 26 million.
The franchise includes intercity train services on the Midland Main Line linking Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield with London St Pancras.
Destinations such as Grantham, Lincoln and Mansfield are served by a network of local lines. The franchise also includes services to Luton Airport and East Midlands Parkway, the closest train station to East Midlands Airport.
Stagecoach chief executive Martin Griffiths said: “We are proud of our track record over the past decade of investment and working in partnership with Network Rail, local authorities and other stakeholders to transform rail services for customers, becoming consistently the most punctual long-distance train operator in the country.”
He added: “The railway in the East Midlands is crucial to the regional economy. There is a huge opportunity to build on the network’s success to create new jobs, build the skills of our people and improve connectivity across the region.
“We can also leverage our experience of bringing train and track closer together to develop plans that deliver a better customer experience to today’s passengers and those we attract in the future.”
Stagecoach said that the Department for Transport, while yet to confirm the length of the new contract for East Midlands Trains, had indicated it was likely to last for between seven and 15 years.
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