Statement re TSGN Rail Franchise

23 May 2014

                 FIRSTGROUP PLC ("FirstGroup" or "The Group")                  

      STATEMENT RE: THAMESLINK SOUTHERN AND GREAT NORTHERN RAIL FRANCHISE      

In response to the announcement by the Department for Transport today,
FirstGroup is disappointed that it has been unsuccessful in its bid for the new
Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern rail franchise.

FirstGroup has operated the First Capital Connect franchise, on the Thameslink
and Great Northern sections of the route, since 2006 and during that time has:

• been a key partner in delivering the £6.5bn Thameslink Programme, along with
Network Rail and Transport for London. Milestones achieved include the first
12-carriage trains to operate on the route, the extension of Blackfriars
platforms across the Thames, redevelopment of Farringdon station and extension
of platforms across the network.

• increased passenger volumes to 118m in 2013/14, a 37% increase from 86m a
year when the current franchise began.

• introduced 144 new vehicles onto the Thameslink route delivering an extra
14,500 seats at the busiest times of the day, and doubled the number of
cross-London rush hour trains from 7/8 per hour to 15 trains per hour between
St. Pancras International and Blackfriars.

• introduced more than 12,500 extra seats at the busiest times of the day on
Great Northern services, to increase peak time capacity by more than 22%.

• increased overall passenger satisfaction scores since the start of the
franchise, including increased scores in the latest independent survey by
Passenger Focus for areas including station upkeep and how well the company
dealt with disruption.

• transformed communications with customers - including 24/7 Twitter service,
free SMS and email feed alerts as well as a brand new website with mobile
capability and real time feeds.

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

"I am disappointed that we will not be operating the new franchise and taking
the Thameslink Programme on to its next stage. We submitted a strong bid which
would have delivered high quality services for passengers, value for taxpayers
and an economic return for shareholders. We are tremendously proud to have
operated a significant part of this network over the past eight years through
our First Capital Connect franchise, and of the many improvements we have
delivered during that time. I would like to thank all of our employees who
worked tirelessly to deliver improved services for our customers during a
period of great change on the network.

"We shall continue to operate First Capital Connect until the new franchise
begins on 14 September 2014, and during that time we look forward to continuing
improvements to our trains, stations and customer service training. We shall
work with the new operator as they prepare to take on these crucial
responsibilities for the route."

"Today's news does not alter our stated medium term targets. Going forward the
Group is currently shortlisted for a number of other rail franchises and will
participate in a range of competitions with the objective of achieving earnings
on a par with the last round of franchising, with an acceptable level of risk."

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, we transport more than 2.5 billion passengers every 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 operate approximately a
quarter of the UK passenger rail network, carrying more than 330 million
passengers a year. Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly
congested world, keeping people moving and communities prospering.

Visit our website at: www.firstgroup.com

Contacts at FirstGroup:

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

Contacts at Brunswick PR:

Michael Harrison/Andrew Porter, Tel: [phone]