REG-FirstGroup PLC: Statement re South Western rail franchise competition <Origin Href="QuoteRef">FGP.L</Origin>

FirstgroupAnnouncement

16/06/2016 07:45

FIRSTGROUP PLC (‘the Group) 
   
 
 Statement re: South Western rail franchise competition 
 
 FirstGroup is pleased to announce that MTR Corporation (UK) will join the
Group in a joint venture to bid for the South Western rail franchise,
following the assent of the Department for Transport. 
 
 Commenting, Steve Montgomery, First Rail Managing Director said: 
 
 "We are pleased that we will be partnering with MTR in a joint venture to bid
for the South Western rail franchise, for which we were shortlisted in
February 2016. We have extensive expertise of running commuter, inter-urban,
regional and long distance services – such as those that make up the South
Western franchise – and a strong track record in delivering passenger
growth. MTR run successful suburban and commuter railways; their knowledge
from running London Overground and TfL Rail on behalf of Transport for London
will add further depth and understanding to an important component of this
franchise. 
 
 "Together, FirstGroup and MTR will develop an innovative and value for money
proposal that will deliver better connectivity and significant improvements
for South Western customers. Our bid will keep people moving and communities
prospering across the region." 
 
 Notes 
 
 1. MTR Corporation (UK) will take a 30% stake in the joint venture 
 
 2. Both FirstGroup and MTR hold 'Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Passports'
with the Department for Transport which shows that they have satisfied basic
financial and other competence criteria and allows them to Express an Interest
in submitting franchise bids to Government 
 
 3. MTR run the current London Overground concession in a joint venture with
Arriva. This operation serves Clapham Junction, the busiest station on the
network and a key hub for the South Western franchise. In addition, they have
been selected as the operator of the new Crossrail/Elizabeth Line service and
run TfL Rail services from London Liverpool Street station. 
 
 FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK and
North America. With £5.2 billion in revenues and 110,000 employees, we
transported around 2.2 billion passengers last year. Each of our five
divisions is a leader in its field: In North America, First Student is the
largest provider of student transportation with a fleet of around 47,000
yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest providers of
outsourced transit management and contracting services, while Greyhound is the
only nationwide operator of scheduled intercity coach services. In the UK,
FirstGroup is one of Britain's largest bus operators running a fleet of some
6,200 buses, and we are one of the country's most experienced passenger rail
operators, carrying around 140 million passengers last year. 
 
 Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world...
keeping people moving and communities prospering. 
 
 Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us @firstgroupplc on
Twitter. 
 
 MTR Corporation (MTR) is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading
operators of metro, commuter and airport rail systems and has a successful
international consulting business. It is also a property developer, and
manages shopping malls, retail units, apartments and other major buildings
along some of its lines. Around the world, MTR: runs metro, light rail and
Airport Express services and infrastructure, develops and manages significant
rail-related property and is delivering new rail lines and major upgrade
projects in Hong Kong; operates lines in Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou in
China; is lead shareholder in a joint venture operating the Melbourne train
system and leads a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) consortium which will
deliver and operate the Sydney Metro Northwest in Australia. 
 
 Contacts at FirstGroup: 
 
 Faisal Tabbah, Head of Investor Relations 
 
 Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Media 
 
 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7725 3354 
 
 Contacts at Brunswick PR: 
 
 Michael Harrison / Andrew Porter, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959 
 


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