The four runners in the race for a major franchise deal to run South-East rail services were unveiled yesterday.
National Express, Stagecoach, Govia – a joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis – and NedRailways will contest the new South Central franchise, the Department for Transport said.
The new deal will include the existing Southern franchise and Gatw
ick Express services, as well as the Tonbridge to Redhill route currently under the Southeastern franchise. Govia is the current operator of Southern services.
National Express's rail franchises include the East Coast and East Anglia deals, while Perth-based Stagecoach runs East Midlands and South West routes. Dutch firm NedRailways runs MerseyRail and Northern services in tandem with UK-based Serco, while Govia also runs Southeastern and London Midland trains alongside the Southern franchise.
In 2006/07, Gatwick Express and Southern combined collected over £400m in revenue and accounted for over 140 million passenger journeys, but a DfT consultation on the new franchise said overcrowding remains a problem on peak-time trains.
The eventual winner of the South Central deal will operate trains in south London and parts of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire – and have to help increase capacity by around 10 per cent overall.
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