Despite running the South West Train franchise for two decades, Stagecoach (SGC) has lost the contract to close rival FirstGroup (FGP). The latter will take control of the network this summer through its 70:30 joint venture FirstGroup MTR with Hong Kong group MTR. The ownership will run until August 2024.
In that time, FirstGroup and its partner will invest £1.2bn in service improvements across the line, which will take the form of better trains, faster services and other station improvements. In light of the recent disruption suffered by passengers on the Southern network, FirstGroup said one of its objectives was to increase engagement with customers, employees, local authorities and community groups to give them "a real stake in the future of rail travel" in their area. As such, the company intends to launch a £2.6m annual fund to support community projects across the franchise from April 2020.
In a trading update released days following the announcement, Stagecoach revealed that like-for-like sales for its UK rail and Virgin rail divisions were up 1.6 per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively, during the 11 months to March. However, the latter includes revenue from South West Trains.
