SWT Franchise Bid

FirstGroup PLC
23 June 2000

                               
              FirstGroup franchise bid backed by Dutch railways               


Plans by FirstGroup to bid for the South West Trains franchise are being
supported by the Dutch railway operator NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen).

Both companies had pre-qualified to make separate bids to the shadow Strategic
Rail Authority.

A partnership is being formed by FirstGroup, the UK's largest transport
company, and NS, the major rail operator in the Netherlands, to jointly bid
for the South West Trains franchise. 

Initially, NS will support FirstGroup's proposals but later both parties will
decide how to shape and develop their joint approach.

The partnership enhances the strengths of both companies. FirstGroup has
experience and knowledge of the UK rail market and operation of existing
franchises while NS has gained expertise in operating quality passenger
services that offer the customer seamless, door-to-door journeys. The
high-density rail network in the Netherlands is being used at full capacity. 

Moir Lockhead, chief executive of FirstGroup, said: 'We are developing
exciting new plans for South West Trains and, together with NS, we aim to
provide customers with a much better service. I believe we will create in this
new alliance with NS a unique blend based on shared values and ambitions, and
with complementary skills and experience.'

The deadline for lodging initial bids with the sSRA is July 12.



Contacts:

FirstGroup

Michael Mitchell, Director of Corporate Communications      020 7291 0504
Robin Etherington, Communications Manager, FirstGroup Rail   01675 443812

NS

Tijs Manten, Media Relations                           00 31 30 235 70 70


Notes to Editors:  

FirstGroup

* FirstGroup is Britain's largest passenger transport company with annualised
turnover of some £2 billion, and 50,000 employees across the UK and US.

* The Group is the UK's largest bus operator with some 23% of the market. The
company has a fleet of more than 10,000 buses carrying 2.7 million passengers
a day in more than 40 towns and cities.

* FirstGroup is also one of the UK's largest rail operators with three
franchises - First Great Western, First North Western and First Great Eastern.
The Group operates nearly one-fifth of the UK rail network, and, with a
balanced portfolio of inter-city, London commuter, and regional services, it
has significant expertise in this industry.

* FirstGroup is a major transport operator in the US.

* First Student is the second-largest operator of school buses, carrying more
than 650,000 students every day in 11,000 vehicles in 26 states.

* First Transit is a leading provider of public transit contracting and
management, operating over 50 systems in 27 states.

* First Vehicle Services is the largest provider of fleet maintenance services
in the US, managing over 30,000 pieces of equipment for public transit
agencies, cities and utilities.

FirstGroup puts the passenger first by investing in safety and quality, with
state-of-the-art buses, trains, infrastructure and technology.


NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen)

* NS is Holland's largest railway company with an annualised turnover of 5.5
billion Dutch guilders and 24,000 employees.

* Each day, NS carries about 1 million passengers who travel approximately 39
million kilometres. 

* NS runs 4,500 trains a day serving 320 stations on a rail network totalling
2,500 kilometres.

* Passenger rolling stock totals 2,776 vehicles of which 333 are double deck
carriages.

* In addition to running trains, NS and its subsidiaries NedTrain, NS Stations
and NS Real Estate, have experience and expertise in consultancy and
maintenance of rolling stock and the commercial development and maintenance of
stations and related real estate.

* NS aims to deliver to its passengers, as well as to local and national
government, a high quality product and to be responsive to the demands of its
customers through the development of new products and services.

* The efforts of all NS employees are geared to the same clear mission:
providing competitive, public passenger services.