Statement re ScotRail franchise

8 October 2014

                                FIRSTGROUP PLC                                 

                         ("FirstGroup" or "The Group")                         

                        STATEMENT RE: SCOTRAIL FRANCHISE                        

FirstGroup, the leading transport operator in the UK and North America, has
been informed by Transport Scotland that it has not been awarded the new
ScotRail franchise.

Commenting, Tim O'Toole, FirstGroup's Chief Executive, said:

"We are very proud of our success in operating First ScotRail and our team were
recognised last week, once again, as Rail Operator of the Year. We have kept
our promises and more for ten years, delivering record levels of service
including during this extraordinary summer in Scotland with the Commonwealth
Games and the Ryder Cup. Our bid would have delivered even greater levels of
service and growth, and we are disappointed we will not have the opportunity to
implement the credible plans we submitted, building on our record of
improvement across every measurable score, for the benefit of ScotRail's
passengers and employees.

"We shall continue to operate First ScotRail until the new franchise commences
on 1 April 2015. Until that time we will deliver further enhancements to trains
and stations including further free Wi-Fi and continue important work to enable
the extension of smart ticketing across the whole country and the opening of
the Borders Railway next year.

"Today's news does not alter the Group's stated medium-term targets. As one of
the largest and most experienced rail operators we are actively participating
in franchise competitions with the objective of achieving earnings on a par
with the last round of franchising, with an acceptable level of risk. We are in
negotiations with the Department for Transport (DfT) to operate the First
TransPennine Express franchise until February 2016, and continue discussions
with the DfT in respect of a potential longer direct award to operate First
Great Western, our largest franchise, over the period when a substantial
programme of infrastructure upgrades and introduction of new trains will take
place on the network."

FirstGroup has operated the First ScotRail franchise since 2004 and during that
time has:

  * Provided more services and introduced new trains: Scotland now has its
    biggest ever timetable of 2,300 services each day, up by 300 since 2004. In
    addition 215 extra coaches have been introduced. This has helped to attract
    new passengers, with customer numbers rising to more than 86 million - an
    increase of 34% since 2004.
   
  * Improved service quality: Punctuality and reliability scores reached a
    record high this year of 95.3% - up from 84% in 2004, and customer
    satisfaction is at its highest ever level at 90% - eight points higher than
    the UK average and six points higher than in 2004.
   
  * Invested in Scotland's rail services: more than £82 million invested since
    2004 including station improvements of £56m and improvements to rolling
    stock of £26.3m. More than 130 trains and 50 stations have been fitted with
    free Wi-Fi.
   
  * Invested in our people to deliver performance and customer service:
    Employee numbers increased from 3,500 to 4,900 including nearly 300 more
    drivers. We achieved Investors in People Gold status, the largest UK
    Company to do so, and we launched a Modern Apprenticeship in Customer
    Service - the first of its kind in the rail industry.
   
  * Awarded Rail Operator of the Year at the National Transport Awards on 2
    October 2014 for the third time in six years and also current Rail Business
    of the Year.
   
  * Forged effective partnerships: First ScotRail was one of the first train
    operating companies to sign an alliance agreement with Network Rail,
    resulting in savings including the delivery of the industry-leading Paisley
    Canal line electrification project within 6 months whilst reducing the
    costs from £28m to £12m.
   
  * Delivered Scotland's successful year of events in 2014: First ScotRail
    carried more than 1.1 million people to the Commonwealth Games, and 50,000
    to the Ryder Cup as well as Edinburgh Festivals and Bannockburn Live.
   
Notes to Editors:

About FirstGroup plc

FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK and
North America. With revenues of more than £6.7 billion and around 117,000
employees in 2013/14, we transported around 2.5 billion passengers last year.
Each of our five divisions is a leader in its field: First Student is the
largest provider of student transportation in North America with a fleet of
around 49,000 yellow school buses, First Transit is one of the largest
providers of outsourced transit management and contracting services in the US,
while Greyhound is the only national operator of scheduled intercity coach
services across North America. In the UK, FirstGroup is one of Britain's
largest bus operators running a fleet of some 6,400 buses, and we are one of
the largest operators of passenger rail services in the UK, carrying more than
330 million passengers last year, with experience of running all types of rail
network.

Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world...
keeping people moving and communities prospering.

Visit our website at: www.firstgroupplc.com

Contacts at FirstGroup:
Rachael Borthwick, Group Corporate Communications Director
Faisal Tabbah, Group Investor Relations Manager
Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Media
Tel: [phone]

Contacts at Brunswick PR:
Michael Harrison/Andrew Porter, Tel: [phone]