Stagecoach Wins East Midlands Franchise

The rail company Stagecoach has been successful in winning the new East Midlands franchise. They have promised a great improvement in rail services between London, the north of England and the east midlands.

The new franchise begins in November and is set to run until the early part of 2015. The deal is said to be worth some £235 million over that period. However the Department of Transport have the power to end the agreement after six years if Stagecoach misses the performance targets that it has been set. During the early years of the franchise Stagecoach will benefit from a subsidy, however over the full term of the contract a premium of some £133 million will be payable to the Department of Transport.

The head of the Scotland based Stagecoach; Mr Brian Souter has made it plain that the company objective will be to get people out of their cars and back onto the railway.

National Express have been the losers in all this as the mainline services from St Pancras and the eastern network of Central Trains were run by firms owned by them. These have been included in the new franchise.

Stagecoach promises shorter journey times. The unregulated fares will rise by some 3.4% above the inflation rate.

www.stagecoachbus.com