New proposals comprise two return journeys a day from London Kings Cross, calling at Retford, Worksop, Woodhouse and Sheffield.
(Permalink) FirstGroup London Kings Cross Sheffield

Shares in Scottish transport giant FirstGroup have risen four per cent after the company said its rail and bus operations performed better than expected in the first half despite the challenges posed by the surge in inflation.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast FirstGroup Great Western Railway Hull Trains Lumo South Western Railway

FirstGroup has provided evidence that consumers are prepared to persevere with railways despite disruption which has posed big challenges for travellers in recent months.
(Permalink) FirstGroup Lumo

The company's Avanti services have won over Westminster less than a year after being branded 'unacceptable'.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast FirstGroup

FirstGroup's National Rail Contract to operate TransPennine Express services will not be renewed when it expires on May 28, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper announced on May 11. Operations will instead be transferred to the government's Operator of Last Resort.
(Permalink) FirstGroup Operator of Last Resort TransPennine Express

FirstGroup, the Scottish transport heavyweight, said it was delivering a resilient performance in the face of a challenging political, economic and industrial relations environment.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast FirstGroup Great Western Railway Hull Trains London Tramlink Lumo South Western Railway TransPennine Express

FirstGroup's 100% electric rail operator Lumo has achieved two major milestones in its first year, having attracted a million passengers and seen rail overtake air travel to become the preferred mode of transport between Edinburgh and London.

Since the introduction of its full timetable in April, Lumo has helped to make rail the favoured mode of transport between Edinburgh and London. Its average ticket price is just £37.

Between April and August, 57% of journeys between Edinburgh and London were by rail, compared to a pre-pandemic position of 35% for April-August 2019. Some 66% of travellers chose rail over domestic flights in August itself, suggesting the trend may be set to continue.
(Permalink) Edinburgh FirstGroup Hitachi Rail London Lumo

FirstGroup statement about West Coast Partnership Contract Extension.
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Avanti West Coast has been placed on a short-term contract renewal by the Government after it provided an unacceptable service to rail users.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast FirstGroup

Thousands of rail passengers impacted by an IT error will be reimbursed for the inconvenience they experienced when attempting to claim compensation for a delayed journey. FirstGroup, which runs Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway, South Western Railway and TransPennine Express and open-access operators Hull Trains and Lumo, self-reported the issue to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) after a recent audit identified the issue. When a passenger submits a Delay Repay claim to the wrong train company, the claim should be redirected to the appropriate train company for processing.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast Compensation FirstGroup Great Western Railway Hull Trains IT Lumo South Western Railway TransPennine Express

Operator of GWR and South Western Railways says proposal fails to reassure investors. Britain's biggest train operator FirstGroup has rejected a £1.2bn takeover proposal from a US private equity firm, after its board determined the offer was too low. The bus and rail company said it had carefully reviewed the proposal from I Squared Capital, which first became public last month, but concluded that the 118p a share cash offer significantly undervalues FirstGroup's continuing operations and its future prospects.
(Permalink) FirstGroup GWR I Squared Capital South Western Railway

Aberdeen-based firm considering approach by US private equity firm I Squared Capital. FirstGroup, Britains biggest train operator, is evaluating a £1.2bn takeover offer from a US private equity firm, the latest UK transport group to become a takeover target. The Aberdeen-based bus and rail operator said it had received a series of unsolicited proposals from I Squared Capital, and rejected them unanimously, apart from the latest approach, received on Wednesday evening, which it is evaluating.
(Permalink) FirstGroup I Squared Capital

Chairman David Martin said the company was now concentrating on becoming a UK-focused operation. FirstGroup has announced the sale of its Greyhound bus service in the US to become fully focused on UK transport, as its Lumo train service operated its inaugural journey from London to Scotland. The long-established North American intercity coach business will be sold to the German operator FlixMobility for $172m (£125m), in a deal that will see FirstGroup temporarily retain the depots and terminals, as well as pension liabilities “ in effect offloading Greyhound for a net loss of $19m.
(Permalink) FirstGroup FlixMobility Greyhound Buses Lumo

Scottish transport giant FirstGroup has outlined its plans to return £500 million to investors after confirming that current trading remains on track.
(Permalink) FirstGroup GWR Lumo West Coast Partnership

FirstGroup is to launch a budget direct London-Edinburgh rail service next month, which it hopes will lure air passengers to the train as a cheaper and greener alternative. The new service, branded Lumo, will have just one single class of travel and the company hopes it will carry more than 1 million passengers a year on the East Coast line - slightly more than currently fly between the English and Scottish capitals.
(Permalink) Edinburgh FirstGroup London Lumo Pricing Ticketing

A new rail service running between Edinburgh and London hopes of rivalling domestic air travel with fares starting at just £14.90.
(Permalink) Edinburgh FirstGroup London Lumo Pricing Ticketing

When the new Lumo rail service launches next month, it will officially make train travel between the Scottish and English capitals cheaper than it is to buy a return between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
(Permalink) Edinburgh FirstGroup Glasgow London Lumo Pricing ScotRail Ticketing

The Department for Transport has finalised the first of the National Rail Contracts under which formerly franchised passenger services are to be operated over the next few years.
(Permalink) Department for Transport FirstGroup SWR

FirstGroup has reached an agreement with the Government over the termination of two rail franchises, the transport giant said.
(Permalink) Avanti West Coast FirstGroup Franchise South Western Railway

Transport operator FirstGroup has announced that it has procured new trains and a team for First Rails new Edinburgh-London service.
The new service will be an open-access venture that will offer high-quality and low-cost direct service connecting Edinburgh and London. It will begin operations late next year.
This rail line is expected to offer electric trains as a cheaper and sustainable mode of transport when compared with air-based travel. Additionally, the first train of the new five-car Hitachi electric fleet for the new service has been delivered for assembly at the manufacturers Newton Aycliffe facility.
(Permalink) FirstGroup Hitachi

FirstGroup is to take over the running of the West Coast mainline train route, connecting London Euston to Glasgow Central, from December.
Along with Italian firm Trenitalia, FirstGroup said the route would pave the way for an era of high-speed rail.
First Trenitalia replaces Virgin Trains, which was barred from bidding to keep the route.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the bid was part of a shift to a new model for rail.
(Permalink) FirstGroup Grant Shapps Virgin Trains

FirstGroup and MTR have today announced that they have signed an order with Bombardier worth £895m to deliver 90 new trains to support its South Western franchise.
The news follows the franchise, (which is due to start on 20 August this year) being awarded to the partnership between the FirstGroup and MTR in March, and is expected to provide a 46% boost to peak capacity on its suburban routes into Waterloo.
RTM reported earlier this year that First MTR was reportedly dropping £200m worth of new Class 707 Desiro City trains currently being built by Siemens. The first of these arrived in the UK in December last year. However, a spokesperson for the partnership told RTM that they will continue to roll-out the new rolling stock, but once the Aventras are fully in place by December 2020 it will look to cascade the 707s to other parts of the network. He added that this falls under First MTRs plans for a homogenous fleet of trains.
(Permalink) Bombardier FirstGroup