TIDMSGC
RNS Number : 1871D
Stagecoach Group PLC
25 April 2017
25 April 2017
Stagecoach and Virgin join forces with SNCF for West Coast
Partnership rail franchise bid
Stagecoach Group ("Stagecoach") and Virgin Group ("Virgin")
announced today (25 April 2017) that they are joining forces with
French high speed operator SNCF to bid for the West Coast
Partnership rail franchise.
The Government has announced that the West Coast Partnership
franchise will run from 2019. The franchise will include current
West Coast services and the first few years of operation of High
Speed 2 ("HS2") services.
Stagecoach has a 50% share in the bid vehicle, West Coast
Partnership Limited, with a 30% share held by SNCF and the
remaining 20% owned by Virgin. It is envisaged that services under
a successful bid would carry the Virgin brand.
Martin Griffiths, Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group, said:
"This creates a powerful world-class partnership, bringing together
the team which has transformed inter-city rail travel in the UK
with the most recognised and capable high speed operator in
Europe.
"The new franchise has an important role to play in delivering
the improvements and space on our railway that can support our
communities and economy. Together, we have a very strong track
record of working effectively with other rail partners and
infrastructure providers, as well as using cutting edge technology
to achieve a step change in customer service."
Patrick McCall, Virgin Trains co-Chairman said: "I'm delighted
that SNCF has come on board, and together we will put forward what
we hope is the winning bid for the next West Coast, and first HS2,
franchise. We've just celebrated twenty years of Virgin Trains and
this news puts us in the best possible position to make it
thirty.
"We've always focussed on customers throughout our history,
introducing many UK firsts such as tilting trains, automatic
compensation for delays, M-Ticketing and free films and TV on-board
via our BEAM service. We're thrilled about the prospect of
continuing and improving this record of innovation with the UK's
first long distance high speed network, as well as with our friends
and communities along the West Coast."
Guillaume Pepy, Chairman and CEO of SNCF said: "This is a very
exciting development for SNCF. We are world leaders in high speed
rail. SNCF has a long-standing commitment to working in partnership
with British companies, using their local knowledge and sharing our
expertise and experience.
"Today, we are delighted to announce this next step in our
commitment to UK rail, working with partners who have demonstrated
their own expertise in long distance rail services and are highly
regarded in the industry. We appreciate Stagecoach's widespread
expertise across a variety of transport modes and Virgin's
reputation for its renowned customer experience. In partnership, we
will deliver a successful HS2 service for the UK."
Virgin, Stagecoach and SNCF have already worked together on the
first stage of the West Coast Partnership bid, the "Expression of
Interest", which was submitted yesterday. The partners will now
prepare for the "Invitation to Tender" which is expected to be
issued by the end of the year.
Ends
For further information, please contact:
Analysts
Ross 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.
Virgin Trains
Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the
East Coast and West Coast inter-city routes under the Virgin Trains
brand. Together, they are on track to revolutionise rail travel
across the UK.
The combined network connects some of the nation's most iconic
destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester,
Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, York and London.
Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high
frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable
travel and excellent customer service. Customers consistently rate
Virgin Trains as one of the top long-distance rail franchise
operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned
by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.
On the East Coast route, GBP140m is being invested to create a
more personalised travel experience. We have already invested
GBP21m to completely revamp our existing fleet and customers can
now benefit from 42 additional services (22,000 extra seats) per
week between Edinburgh and London. 2018 will see the introduction
of completely new Azuma trains being built in the UK by
Hitachi.
The West Coast route has a proud record of challenging the
status quo - from introducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a
pioneering automated delay repay scheme and becoming the first
franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets for all ticket
types.
About SNCF Group
SNCF is a global leader in passenger and freight transport
services with revenue of EUR32.3 billion in 2016, of which
one-third is from international markets. With 260,000 employees in
120 countries, SNCF draws on its foundations in French rail and on
its extensive experience as an architect of transport services. It
aims to become the benchmark for mobility and logistics solutions,
both in France and worldwide. SNCF has six core businesses: SNCF
RĂ©seau (management and operation of the French rail network); SNCF
Voyageurs (commuter transport in the Paris region, regional and
inter-city public transport, high-speed rail in France and Europe);
SNCF Gares & Connexions (management and development of
stations); SNCF Logistics (freight transport and logistics
worldwide); Keolis (mass transit and public transport in Europe and
around the globe); and SNCF Immobilier (management and optimization
of SNCF property and land assets). www.sncf.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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