2019-04-10 [[Statement about Stagecoach Group]] (Department for Transport)

2019-04-10 East Midlands, South Eastern and West Coast Partnership franchise updates (Department for Transport)

2019-04-10 Southeastern begins discussions to extend franchise (Southeastern)

2019-04-10 Department for Transport rail franchising programme (Stagecoach Group)

2019-04-10 RMT demands that Stagecoach contracts be taken into public ownership as company is banned from bidding for rail franchises (RMT)

2019-04-10 Andy McDonald comments on DfT's handling over railfranchise bids (Labour Party)

2019-04-10 Midlands Connect comment on Abellio winning the East Midlands Railway franchise (Midlands Connect)

2019-04-10 East Midlands Railway franchise - Transport Focus comment (Transport Focus)

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date 10 Dec 2007
source Stagecoach Group
type Press release

Stagecoach Group has extended its innovative budget rail service, megatrain.com, to key routes operated by East Midlands Trains.

megatrain.com, which offers some of the lowest fares on the UK rail network for decades, is giving passengers the chance to purchase travel on the East Midlands Trains mainline route from just £1 (plus 50p booking fee).

Around 3,500 megatrain.com seats will be offered on the East Midlands Trains network every week.

Tickets are on sale from today (10 December 2007) for travel from Wednesday 2 January 2008 on services to London, from Sheffield, Chesterfield, Derby, Nottingham, Loughborough and Leicester.

David Horne, East Midlands Trains Commercial Director, said: “We’re very excited to be launching the successful megatrain.com concept on our services. megatrain.com has become well renowned for providing high-quality, excellent value rail travel, and we are extremely pleased that passengers in the East Midlands will be able to take advantage of these low cost fares.”

megatrain.com, which is already been a success at the Group’s South West Trains operation, is an easy-to-use, ticket-less product that can be purchased from the megatrain.com website or through the telephone booking centre. For more information on East Midlands Trains services, visit the website at eastmidlandstrains.co.uk.

A total of 16 stations on the South West Trains network already provide megatrain.com fares, with around 3,100 megatrain.com seats booked each week. More than 250,000 passengers have used the service since it was launched in November 2005.

megabus.com, Stagecoach’s market-leading low-cost inter-city coach service, connects around 40 destinations across the UK and carries more than two million passengers a year.

Earlier this year, Stagecoach integrated the megabus.com and megatrain.com travel sites, allowing customers to access both coach and rail options in one easy search. The online retailing system gives visitors access to around 500 daily departures to more than 50 locations across the UK from just £1*.

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact the East Midlands Trains Press Office on 01332 262010

NOTES TO EDITORS

Stagecoach Group

Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs around 30,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services.

As well as East Midlands Trains, Stagecoach operates the South Western rail franchise, which includes the South West Trains and Island Line networks. South West Trains, the UK's biggest commuter rail network, runs nearly 1700 trains a day in the south-west of England out of London Waterloo. Island Line, on the Isle of Wight, has been designated a Community Rail Partnership. In addition, Stagecoach has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast inter-city rail franchise.

Stagecoach is Britain's biggest tram operator, running networks in both Sheffield and Manchester. The Group operates the Supertram network in Sheffield, a 29km tram system incorporating three routes in the city, on a 27-year concession running until 2024. Stagecoach Group also operates and maintains the 37km Manchester Metrolink tram network under a 10-year contract with Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive ("GMPTE"). The contract includes managing a number of special projects sponsored by GMPTE to improve the trams and infrastructure to benefit passengers. Stagecoach Metrolink will also be responsible for operating tram services on the new Metrolink lines to Oldham, Rochdale, Droylsden and Chorlton.

East Midlands Trains

East Midlands Trains operate high speed long distance services from London St. Pancras to Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham and regional services between Nottingham and Derby – Lincoln – Cleethorpes – Skegness, and between Derby and Crewe - Matlock and Norwich and Liverpool.

The franchise will run until 31 March 2015, the last year and four months of which will be conditional upon achieving pre-set performance targets.

Highlights of the new franchise include faster journey times from Sheffield and Leicester to London from 2008, better performance, more seats, train refurbishment, investment at Derby’s Etches Park train maintenance depot, a centralised information and security centre, more car parking spaces and two new stations – at East Midlands Parkway and Corby.

megatrain.com

Bookings can be made at megatrain.com or by phone on 09001 200 300. Lines are open 8am to 9pm & days a week. Calls cost 60p a minute from landlines. Mobile calls may vary. For customer services enquiries, please call 0901 331 0031. Calls cost 10p a minute from landlines. Mobile calls may vary. All megatrain.com and megabus.com reservations are subject to a 50p booking fee.

Railhub Archive ::: 2007-12-10 STG-001