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Doncaster, boosting capacity. It is the first operator to introduce onboard real-time passenger information screens.


LONDON MIDLAND (OCTOBER 2017) Owned by: Govia, a joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis Main routes: London to Birmingham and Crewe; Birmingham to Liverpool; local services in West Midlands. Three bidders are competing for this fran- chise, which includes some routes shared with Virgin Trains, where it offers lower fares on slower services.


NORTHERN (MARCH 2025) Owned by: Arriva Main routes: Local and regional services across the North.


Arriva took over in April this year and will invest £400 million in 281 new air-con- ditioned carriages. More than 2,000 extra services each week (a 40 per cent increase in capacity) will operate around Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle during the morning rush hour, and a new high-quality Northern Connect service will link major towns by 2019.


SCOTRAIL (MARCH 2025) Owned by: Abellio Main routes: Most services within Scotland.


Seventy new trains will be phased in by December 2018 on central Scottish routes, including new electric services


Virgin Trains


for Glasgow-Edinburgh and Glasgow/ Edinburgh-Stirling from 2017. About £475 million is being invested in renewing or refurbishing the fleet over the next seven years, with higher quality trains being introduced to Aberdeen and Inverness.


SOUTHEASTERN (JUNE 2018) Owned by: Govia, a joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis Main routes: London to Kent, including high-speed services from St Pancras; local services around London.


SOUTHERN (SEPTEMBER 2021) Owned by: Govia Thameslink Railway, part of the Go-Ahead Group/Keolis joint venture Main routes: London to Brighton, Eastbourne and Portsmouth; Gatwick Express; local services around London. To be combined with the Great Northern and Thameslink franchises. Southern has been the subject of horror stories all summer because of staff short- ages, strikes and a decision to cut over 300 trains a day in July. It shares with South- eastern the lowest overall satisfaction rating – 69 per cent – in the spring 2016 National Rail Passenger Survey.


SOUTH WEST TRAINS (JUNE 2017) Owned by: Stagecoach Main routes: London to the South Coast and Exeter; local services around London. Firstgroup is bidding to oust Stagecoach on one of the biggest franchises, and whoever wins must increase capacity on key routes, including Waterloo to Reading. An extra 150 carriages start delivery next year.


THAMESLINK (SEPTEMBER 2021) Owned by: Govia Thameslink Railway, part of the Go-Ahead Group/Keolis joint venture Main routes: Bedford to Brighton via Luton airport, central London and Gatwick airport. To be combined with the Great Northern and Southern franchises. New 12-carriage trains – increasing capac- ity by 50 per cent – have started on the Bedford-Brighton route, one of the most overcrowded in Britain.


TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS (MARCH 2023) Owned by: Firstgroup and Keolis Main routes: Liverpool and Manchester airport to Yorkshire and the North East; Man- chester airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh; Manchester to Hull and Cleethorpes. Firstgroup retained the franchise this year and is committed to introducing 44 new trains costing over £400 million, providing 125mph trains to Scotland. Additional services include a new, direct Liverpool to Glasgow link in 2018, while Manchester to Newcastle services will be doubled. All trains will have free wifi.


VIRGIN TRAINS (APRIL 2018) Owned by: 51 per cent by Virgin, and 49 per cent by Stagecoach Main routes: London to the West Midlands, North West, North Wales and Scotland; Birmingham to Scotland. Virgin Trains nearly lost its franchise to First- group in 2012 until errors were discovered in the bidding process. It will soon face stiff competition again but has a formidable record in increasing passenger numbers and satisfaction, and has led the way with mobile ticketing, compensation and a new, free booking tool called Railblazers.


VIRGIN TRAINS EAST COAST (MARCH 2023) Owned by: 90 per cent by Stagecoach, and 10 per cent by Virgin Main routes: London to Peterborough, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. Virgin will benefit from the government’s in- vestment in new Intercity Express bi-modal trains from 2018, with 65 new trains increas- ing capacity by over 12,000 seats. Modest reductions in journey times from May 2019 will see London-Edinburgh in four hours and London-Leeds in two hours, with Middlesbrough, Bradford, Harrogate and Lincoln gaining new services to London.


90 BBT September/October 2016 BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM


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