REG-FirstGroup PLC: Statement re West Coast Partnership Contract Extension

FirstgroupAnnouncement

07/10/2022 07:15

FIRSTGROUP PLC
WEST COAST PARTNERSHIP CONTRACT EXTENSION

FirstGroup plc today announces that it has agreed with the Department for
Transport (‘DfT’) to extend the current contractual arrangements for the
West Coast Partnership (‘WCP’) to the end of March 2023. The WCP rail
contract comprises operation of Avanti West Coast and acting as shadow
operator to the HS2 programme.

WCP is currently operating under an Emergency Recovery Measures Agreement
(‘ERMA’) which was put in place by the DfT in September 2020 to provide
continuity for rail passengers and the industry during the recovery from the
coronavirus pandemic. The ERMA arrangements for WCP were previously set to
expire on 16 October 2022 and will now run until the end of March 2023 under
broadly the same terms and conditions. Discussions are ongoing with DfT
regarding the longer-term National Rail Contract for WCP.

Commenting, Graham Sutherland, FirstGroup Chief Executive Officer said:
"We are committed to working closely with government and our partners across
the industry to deliver a successful railway that serves the needs of our
customers and communities. Today’s agreement allows our team at Avanti West
Coast to sustain their focus on delivering their robust plan to restore
services to the levels that passengers rightly expect."

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI): 549300DEJZCPWA4HKM93. Classification as per DTR
6 Annex 1R: 3.1.

About FirstGroup
FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is a leading private sector provider of public
transport services. With £4.6 billion in revenue and more than 30,000
employees, our UK divisions transported nearly 1.5m passengers a day in the
last financial year. First Bus is the second largest regional bus operator in
the UK, serving two-thirds of the UK’s 15 largest conurbations with a fleet
of c.4,900 buses. First Rail is the UK’s largest rail operator, with many
years of experience running long-distance, commuter, regional and sleeper rail
services. We operate a fleet of c.3,800 rail vehicles through four management
fee-based train operating companies (Avanti, GWR, SWR, TPE) and two open
access routes (Hull Trains and Lumo). We create solutions that reduce
complexity, making travel smoother and life easier. Our businesses are at the
heart of our communities and the essential services we provide are critical to
delivering wider economic, social and environmental goals. We are formally
committed to operating a zero-emission First Bus fleet by 2035 and to cease
purchasing further diesel buses after 2022; and First Rail will help support
the UK Government’s goal to remove all diesel-only trains from service by
2040. In 2022 FirstGroup was named as one of the world's cleanest 200 public
companies for the third consecutive year by sustainable business media group
Corporate Knights in partnership with US not-for-profit organisation, As You
Sow. Visit our website at www.firstgroupplc.com and follow us @firstgroupplc
on Twitter.

 Contacts at FirstGroup:  Investor relations: Faisal Tabbah  Media: Stuart Butchers  corporate.comms@firstgroup.co.uk  Tel: +44 (0) 20 7725 3354  Contacts at Brunswick PR:  Andrew Porter / Simone Selzer  Tel: +44 (0) 20 7404 5959  



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