Shortlist for northern rail franchise picked
THE SHORTLIST of companies vying to run all rail services in the north of England was announced by the government yesterday.
The Department for Transport said FirstGroup, Keolis and Stagecoach were being considered to run the TransPennine Express (TPE) franchise from 2016. TPE is currently run by a joint venture between FirstGroup and Keolis.
The three companies shortlisted to run the Northern franchise are Arriva, Govia and Abellio, which has run the service in partnership with Serco since 2004.
Rail minister Claire Perry said: “The north is undergoing a real rail renaissance, and we will be asking these companies to come up with innovative and ambitious proposals that will ensure a truly world-class rail network for the region.”
Both franchises are due to be awarded by October 2015.
The Northern and TransPennine Express franchises carried more than 110m passengers last year between Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester and Newcastle, and onwards to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Over the next five years, more than £1bn will be spent on the rail network in the north, including the £600m for the Northern Hub project.