Firstgroup, Trenitalia to bid for East Midlands and West Coast rail franchises

24th Jan 2017 13:54

(ShareCast News) - Transport operator FirstGroup said on Tuesday that it will bid with Trenitalia UK - the passenger rail transport company part of FS Italiane Group - for the East Midlands and West Coast Partnership rail franchise competitions due to be awarded in 2018.First Trenitalia East Midlands Rail Limited, the joint venture between the two, has submitted an expression of interest to the Department for Transport in respect of the East Midlands rail franchise competition.First Rail managing director Steve Montgomery said: "We are pleased to announce that we will be partnering with Trenitalia to bid for the upcoming East Midlands and West Coast Partnership rail franchises. We have a strong track record in delivering continued modernisation and investment, alongside industry partners, through our rail operating companies Great Western Railway, TransPennine Express and Rail Operator of the Year, Hull Trains."Both ourselves and Trenitalia have extensive expertise of running commuter, regional and long distance services such as those that make up the East Midlands franchise. Their knowledge will add further depth and understanding as we develop our proposals to deliver passenger benefits that take full advantage of the significant investment that government and the industry are making in the region's rail infrastructure. Our proposals will keep people moving and communities prospering."Similarly, Trenitalia have transformed the customer experience on Italy's railways through their high speed Frecciarossa routes. They will be a world class bidding partner as we develop proposals to deliver excellent services for West Coast passengers and work closely with HS2 Ltd to deliver the best solutions for the new HS2 service whilst reducing crowding on the existing network and generate economic growth up and down the country."The West Coast Partnership franchise was announced on 4 November 2016, combining the current InterCity West Coast services with the development and introduction of High Speed 2 services.The new franchise will be responsible for services on both the West Coast Main Line from 2019 and designing and running the initial high speed services from 2026. The franchise will run for the first three to five years of operation of HS2.At 1418 GMT, the shares were down 0.1% to 103.20p.