PLEDGE
Aberdeen-based Firstgroup and Perth rival Stagecoach are among three bids to have been shortlisted to operate the HS2 high-speed railway, the UK government announced yesterday.
The companies are competing for the West Coast Partnership franchise, which will include services on the existing West Coast route from 2019 and initial HS2 trains between London and Birmingham from 2026.
The shortlisted bids are a joint venture between Firstgroup and Italian operator Trenitalia; a joint entry by Stagecoach and Virgin, as well as French rail operator SNCF; and a partnership between Hong Kong firm MTR and China’s Guangshen Railway Company, as well as several sub-contractors.
The Department for Transport claimed the bids feature “UK rail experts”, companies that operate high-speed railways around the world and businesses with “an excellent track record in customer services”.
First Rail managing direc-
0 Initial HS2 trains will run between London and Birmingham from 2026
STEVE MONTGOMERY, FIRST tor Steve Montgomery said: “We are well positioned with our partner to develop a completely new customer proposition both on the West Coast route, and, through the exciting opportunity this franchise offers, to design and run initial services on the HS2 network.
“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 rail operator of the year, Hull Trains. In August, we will begin operating the South Western rail franchise where we will deliver £1.2 billion of investment.”
As well as being shortlisted for the West Coast Partnership franchise, Stagecoach is in the running for the South Eastern rail route, set to run from 2018 serving south-east London, Kent, the Medway towns and East Sussex.
But the group faces a challenge from Trenitalia UK, which has also been shortlisted for the South Eastern network,
“We have a strong track record in delivering continued modernisation and investment.”