Firstgroup price cap gets the SWT green light
Price cap proposals by Aberdeen-based Firstgroup and its Hong Kong partner MTR to tackle competition concerns on their takeover of the South Western rail franchise this month have been accepted by the regulator.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) warned in July the operation of the London-exeter route by First Group and MTR out of London Waterloo raised anti-trust concerns. Firstgroup already operates Great Western Railway – the only other train serv- ice between the cities. The CMA said that without intervention the firms may have been able to hike passenger fares.
However, yesterday the CMA said it had accepted the price cap proposals, adding: “The offer made by the two companies involves a price cap on unregulated fares between London and Exeter on both South Western and GWR services.
“Ticket prices on the route will be linked to those on a number of other comparable services.”