Statement re: Shortlisting for East Anglia fran...

FIRSTGROUP PLC                                 
                         ('FirstGroup' or 'the Group')                         
                                                                               
       Statement re: SHORTLISTING FOR EAST ANGLIA FRANCHISE COMPETITION        



FirstGroup has been shortlisted for the East Anglia rail franchise competition
by the Department for Transport.

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

"We have extensive experience of intercity, regional and commuter services,
such as those that make up the East Anglia franchise, and we have a strong
track record in delivering passenger growth as well as capacity and
infrastructure upgrades on the franchises we run - First Great Western and
First TransPennine Express. We look forward to reviewing the East Anglia
franchise contract details and submitting an innovative, compelling, and value
for money bid which meets the needs of taxpayers as well as customers and
businesses along the route."
 

Contacts at FirstGroup:

Faisal Tabbah, Group Investor Relations Manager

Stuart Butchers, Group Head of Media

Tel: [phone]

Contacts at Brunswick PR:

Michael Harrison / Andrew Porter, Tel: [phone]

Notes

FirstGroup plc (LSE: FGP.L) is the leading transport operator in the UK and
North America.  With revenues of more than £6.7 billion in 2013/14 and around
110,000 employees, 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