Stagecoach Group

East Anglia rail franchise
_______________________________________________________________

date 2 June 2015
source Stagecoach Group
type Press release

Stagecoach Group plc ("Stagecoach") is pleased to confirm that a Stagecoach-Abellio joint venture has been shortlisted by the Department for Transport ("DfT") for the new East Anglia franchise.

The current Greater Anglia franchise has been operated by Abellio since February 2012. The new East Anglia franchise runs five routes and operates a mix of inter-city, suburban and regional services, carrying more than 350,000 passengers every day.

Abellio East Anglia Limited (AEAL) is one of three operators shortlisted for the franchise. Stagecoach holds a 40% share of Anglia Rail Holdings Limited (ARHL), the 100% parent company of AEAL, with Abellio holding 60% of ARHL.

Shortlisted bidders are expected to be invited to submit detailed proposals later this year and the new operator will take over managing the franchise in October 2016.

Stagecoach Group Chief Executive Martin Griffiths said: "We are one of the country's leading rail companies and we know the railway is central to the economy in East Anglia. We believe our strong track-record, combined with the insight of the incumbent operator, Abellio, can produce a powerful joint bid to deliver a better experience for customers, and support jobs and businesses in the region.

"There is good momentum in UK rail franchising and our interest in the East Anglia contract is part of our strategy of growing our rail portfolio with selected bids either individually or with selected partners.

"Our plans will include a focus on delivering shorter journey times, better connections and investment in and around stations. We look forward to working with local stakeholders to develop detailed proposals for better services to the commuters and leisure passengers who use the network."

Abellio was awarded a two-year contract to operate the current Greater Anglia franchise from 5 February 2012. In 2014, a further direct award was negotiated with Abellio until 16 October 2016.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Analysts
Ross Paterson, Finance Director
Bruce Dingwall, Group Financial Controller
01738 442111
01738 442111

Media
Steven Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications
01738 442111



NOTES TO EDITORS

Stagecoach Group

Stagecoach Group is an international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, continental Europe, the United States and Canada. The Group employs around 35,000 people, and operates bus, coach, train, and tram services.

Stagecoach is one of the UK's biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,300 buses and coaches. Around 2.8 million passenger journeys are made on Stagecoach's buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates a network of inter-city services across the UK and continental Europe.

Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast rail franchise. It also has a 90% shareholding in Inter City Railways Limited, which operates the East Coast rail franchise.

Stagecoach operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.

In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,400 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. megabus.com links around 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter, transit, contracted, charter, airport shuttle and sightseeing services.

For further information about Stagecoach Group, visit www.stagecoach.com


Abellio
Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen.

It provides rail, bus and tram services to 1.7m customers across the UK, Germany and in the Netherlands every day.

In the UK, the company operates ScotRail and Abellio Greater Anglia train services, and Northern Rail and Merseyrail in joint ventures with Serco. It also runs buses through Abellio London & Surrey.

In Germany, it operates Abellio Deutschland, serving communities in North Rhine Westfalia, Saxony, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse and Thuringia.

In the Netherlands, Abellio runs with Qbuzz bus services in Fryslan, Groningen, Drenthe, Utrecht. Through a minority shareholding in HTM, Abellio also operates tram and bus services in and around the municipality of The Hague.

For more information on Abellio visit www.abellio.com


East Anglia rail franchise

The East Anglia franchise will include:
InterCity services that offer long distance services between London and Norwich on the Great Eastern Mainline.

Great Eastern suburban rail services that operate to Southend Victoria, Southminster, Clacton-on-Sea, Ipswich, Harwich, Braintree and Sudbury.

West Anglia services that operate to Hertford East, Cambridge and King's Lynn.

Stansted Express that links London to Stansted airport.

Regional services that include inter-urban rail services between Norwich, Cambridge and Ipswich, and rural services to Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Cromer and Sheringham - these services also provide connections to the Midlands and the north of England.

Railhub Archive ::: 2015-06-02 STG-001