TransPennine Bid

FirstGroup PLC
14 March 2001
                   
                                                                 14 March 2001

               Update offer for TransPennine Express submitted

FirstGroup and French transport company Via GTI today delivered an updated bid
for the TransPennine rail franchise to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA).

The bidders are offering to invest more than £500 million to create a new
network for the north of England offering inter-city standards of speed,
comfort and customer care.

The plans include a large fleet of new, high-speed trains, station upgrades
and track and signalling improvements to enable faster and more frequent
services to run. They are also looking the possibility of opening new routes.

Other goals include:

  * Ensuring the franchise plays a leading role in improving the quality of
    life in the North of England, and contributing towards a growth in
    prosperity
  * Integrating TransPennine with local transport networks including those
    run by passenger transport executives
  * Helping Railtrack to expand and modernise its infrastructure, and
    working with joint-venture partners to greatly improve stations
  * Striving to ensure that the switch to new ownership happens as smoothly
    and quickly as possible.

Moir Lockhead, FirstGroup's chief executive, said: 'TransPennine, which serves
a region including some of the country's biggest cities and a 10 million
population, has tremendous potential, and we plan to transform the service so
that it attracts many more passengers.'


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Jean-Pierre Deghaye, development director of Via GTI, said: 'I am proud that
ours is a very strong bid which will bring many benefits to communities
throughout the north of England.'

Today is the deadline for delivering best and final offers for the franchise
to the SRA.



                                     Ends

Contacts:

FirstGroup plc: Michael Mitchell, Corporate Communications Director 
020 7291 0504

FirstGroup Rail: Robin Etherington, Communications Manager, 
01675 443812

Via GTI: Jean-Pierre Deghaye, Development Director, 
00 33 609 1120 96


Notes to Editors:

TransPennine Express services link many of the main towns and cities of
northern England including Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland, Middlesbrough,
Scarborough, York, Leeds, Huddersfield, Hull, Grimsby, Doncaster, Sheffield,
Stockport, Manchester, Manchester Airport, and Liverpool.

FirstGroup

  * FirstGroup is one of Britain's largest passenger transport companies
    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 11,500 vehicles in 27 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.



Via GTI

  * In France, Via GTI has a wide variety of transport operations, including
    traditional and guided buses, traditional and driverless underground
    railways, tramways, railways, trolleybuses, funicular railways, and a
    cable car.
  * It provides inter-city transport between 64 d3/4 partements (regions)
    and operates on 85 urban networks, including nine areas with populations
    over 200,000, and two with more than two million people.
  * Via GTI manages three regional French airports, manages the A14 highway,
    provides electric cars in La Rochelle, operates mobility centres, and is
    the leader in car pound and car parking management in France, having
    15,500 car parks.
  * Internationally, Via GTI operates rail networks, urban transit systems
    or inter-city rail links in five other countries: UK, Netherlands,
    Germany, Sweden, and Denmark.
  * In the UK, Via GTI is a partner in the Go Via joint venture which is the
    current Thameslink franchisee. Go Via is due to take over the Connex South
    Central franchise, and is bidding for the replacement Thameslink 2000
    franchise.
  * In 1999, SNCF, the French state-owned railway company, acquired control
    of Via GTI.
  * Via GTI is being merged with Cariane, a bus-operating subsidiary of
    SNCF, to create Via Cariane.
  * Via Cariane will be the largest bus and urban transport operator in
    France.
  * Via Cariane will have a turnover of 8,500 million French francs, with a
    33 per cent market share in France, and 21,000 staff.