Stagecoach : West Coast Partnership / South Eastern franchises

22 June 2017

West Coast Partnership and South Eastern rail franchises

The Department for Transport ('DfT') today has announced the shortlists for the new West Coast Partnership and South Eastern rail franchises.

Stagecoach Group ('Stagecoach') is pleased to confirm that it has been shortlisted by the DfT to receive an Invitation to Tender for the new South Eastern franchise. The franchise, which runs from 2018, incorporates rail services in south east London, Kent, the Medway towns and East Sussex. South Eastern handles 640,000 passenger journeys on 1,900 train services every weekday.

In addition, Stagecoach, Virgin Group and SNCF, bidding as West Coast Partnership Limited, have been shortlisted for the West Coast Partnership franchise. Stagecoach has a 50% share in the bid vehicle, with a 30% share held by SNCF and the remaining 20% owned by Virgin. The franchise, due to run from 2019, will include current West Coast services and the first few years of operation of High Speed 2 services.

Martin Griffiths, Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group, said: 'We are pleased that the extensive expertise and strong track-record of Stagecoach and our partners has been recognised in the shortlists announced by the government for these two rail franchises, both of which are critical to the country's economy.

'We look forward to working with local stakeholders on shaping our plans to improve services for customers and deliver significant value to the taxpayer to reinvest in public services.'

For further information, please contact:

AnalystsRoss Paterson, Finance Director​​​ 01738 442111
Bruce Dingwall, Group Financial Controller​ 01738 442111

Media

Steven Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications 01738 442111 or 07764 774680

Notes to Editors

Stagecoach Group

· Stagecoach is an international public transport group, with operations in the UK, the United States and Canada. The Group employs around 40,000 people, and operates around 13,000 buses, coaches, trains and trams.

· Stagecoach is one of the UK's biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,500 buses and coaches on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates a network of inter-city services across the UK.

· Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It also has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast rail franchise, and a 90% shareholding in Virgin Trains East Coast, which operates the East Coast rail franchise.

· Stagecoach operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.

· In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,300 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. megabus.com operates a network of inter-city coach services in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter, transit, contracted, charter, airport shuttle and sightseeing services.

· For further information, go to www.stagecoach.com.