Statement re TransPennine Express franchise com...

FIRSTGROUP PLC                                 
                         (`FirstGroup' or `the Group')                         
                                                                               
   Statement re: SHORTLISTING FOR TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS FRANCHISE COMPETITION   


FirstGroup has been shortlisted for the TransPennine Express franchise
competition by the Department for Transport (`DfT'). The Group currently
operates the franchise which provides passenger train services throughout the
North of England and cross-border services to Scotland.

Commenting, Vernon Barker, FirstGroup's Managing Director, UK Rail said:

"We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the TransPennine Express
franchise competition. We are proud to have operated the First TransPennine
franchise since 2004 and proud of our success in growing the business. First
TransPennine Express now carries 26 million passengers a year, twice as many as
at the start of the franchise and we recently introduced new, longer, electric
trains on the Anglo-Scottish routes which provide an improved timetable and
increased capacity. We are also the current European InterCity Operator of the
Year. We look forward to reviewing the contract details and submitting a
compelling and value for money bid which meets the needs of taxpayers as well
as customers and businesses along the route."

The current First TransPennine Express franchise is due to end on 31 March 2015
and, as previously announced, we are progressing negotiations with the DfT to
continue operating the franchise until February 2016 when the new contract will
begin.

Further information, FirstGroup:
Stuart Butchers, Group Media Relations Manager
Tel: [phone]
Faisal Tabbah, Group Investor Relations Manager
Tel: [phone]

NOTES TO EDITORS

FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America
with revenues of more than £6.7 billion a year. We employ approximately 117,000
employees and transport around 2.5 billion passengers a year.

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

First Student
The largest provider of student transportation in North America with a fleet of
approximately 49,000 school buses, carrying some six million students every
school day across the US and Canada.

First Transit
One of the largest private sector providers of transit management and
contracting in North America. We manage public transport systems on behalf of
city transit authorities, are one of the largest university campus and airport
shuttle bus providers in the US and also manage paratransit operations, call
centres and other transit activities. First Services, a division of First
Transit, is the one of the largest private sector providers of fleet
maintenance for public sector customers such as the Federal Government and fire
and police departments.

Greyhound
Greyhound is the only national provider of scheduled intercity coach services
in the US and Canada. Based in Dallas, Greyhound provides scheduled passenger
services to 3,800 destinations carrying approximately 18 million passengers a
year. Our point-to-point service Greyhound Express now serves more than 120
markets and we also operate further tailored brands for local markets including
BoltBus and YO! Bus.

UK Bus
FirstGroup is one of Britain's largest bus operators with around a fifth of bus
services outside London. A fleet of some 6,400 buses carries approximately 1.6
million passengers a day in a huge number of communities including 40 of the
UK's largest towns and cities. We operate Greyhound UK providing regular
intercity coach services linking South Wales and Bristol Airport, and we also
operate some US-style yellow school buses and have a fleet of coaches available
for charter. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.

UK Rail
FirstGroup operates approximately a quarter of the UK passenger rail network,
with a balanced portfolio of intercity, commuter, regional and sleeper
services, carrying more than 330 million passengers a year.

o        We are the UK's largest rail operator with four passenger franchises -
First Capital Connect, First Great Western, First ScotRail and First
TransPennine Express - and one open access operator, First Hull Trains.

o        We operate the London Tramlink network on behalf of Transport for
London carrying more than 31 million passengers a year and the Heathrow Connect
service in partnership with Heathrow Airport.

For more information about FirstGroup and our divisions please visit 
www.firstgroupplc.com