All FirstGroup articles
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast won’t be nationalised, says Minister
UK: The government will not terminate Avanti West Coast’s operating contract, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has told the House of Commons. At Transport Questions on March 21, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister Stephen Morgan asked ‘a simple question to the Minister today, will he strip Avanti of ...
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Rail Business UKFirstGroup’s open access performing ahead of expectations
UK: Trading in FirstGroup’s First Rail division has been slightly ahead of expectations due to strong performance at the open access businesses, the company said in a pre-close trading update. The announcement on March 12 covers the period since the half year results were published on ...
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Rail Business UKLumo plans to extend open access services to Glasgow
UK: Open access train operator Lumo is has announced plans to extend some of its London – Edinburgh services to Glasgow. The FirstGroup-owned company is working with Transport Scotland and infrastructure manager Network Rail to agree final route options and timings ahead of an application for ...
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Rail Business UKTokyo Metro amongst bidders for Elizabeth Line operating contract
UK: Transport for London has shortlisted four bidders for the next concession to operate services on the cross-city Elizabeth Line. They are: Arriva UK Trains; First Keolis Elizabeth Line, a joint venture of FirstGroup and Keolis; GTS Rail Operations, a joint venture of Go-Ahead Group, ...
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Rail Business UKFirstGroup plans London – Sheffield open access train service
UK: FirstGroup has announced plans to launch an open access passenger train service between London and Sheffield. The first phase of an application was submitted to industry regulator the Office of Rail & Road on January 5. Consultation will follow, along with discussions with Network Rail ...
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NewsOn-train connectivity rolls out
EUROPE: Following successful trials on the UK’s Island Line, FirstGroup’s railway telecoms company Evo-rail has worked with Comsa to install its Rail-5G on-train connectivity technology on the Figueres - Perpignan high speed line between Spain and France. Evo-rail said the mmWave technology which uses trackside antenna ...
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Rail Business UK‘A victory for union hard-liners’ as TransPennine Express transfer risks causing more disruption
Rail Business UK can reveal that the short-notice decision by Transport Secretary Mark Harper to bring TransPennine Express into the government’s Operator of Last Resort has stoked serious concerns about unintended consequences within the industry.
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In depthUK: Lumo takes on the airlines
In the 18 months since its launch on the London – Edinburgh route, open access operator Lumo has driven up ridership and lifted rail’s market share significantly, as FirstGroup’s Commercial & Revenue Director Stuart Jones explains to Tony Miles.
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast contract extended and Managing Director appointed
UK: Avanti West Coast must continue to regain the confidence of passengers before decisions on its future are made, the Department for Transport said when it announced a six-month extension of the inter-city operator’s contract. The West Coast Partnership contract covers the operation of inter-city services ...
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Rail Business UKSouth Western Railway operating contract extended
UK: The Department for Transport has exercised an option to extend South Western Railway’s National Rail Contract for a further two years. Directly-awarded NRCs are intended as an interim step between the Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements which were put in place during the pandemic, and the ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast contract extended pending decisions on the longer term
UK: The current West Coast Partnership contractual arrangements for Avanti West Coast to operate inter-city passenger services on the West Coast Main Line and act as shadow operator for High Speed 2 have been extended until the end of March 2023. The AWC joint venture of ...
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Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast Managing Director to leave
UK: Phil Whittingham is to step down as Managing Director of Avanti West Coast with effect from September 15 ‘in order to pursue other executive leadership opportunities’, the West Coast Main Line inter-city passenger operator’s parent company First Trenitalia announced on September 2. Whittingham joined Virgin ...
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Rail Business UKCompensation after FirstGroup delay repay problems
UK: FirstGroup is to compensate passengers who were affected by an IT error which wrongly rejected claims for train delay repay compensation. When a passenger submits a delay repay claim to the wrong train company, the claim should be redirected to the appropriate operator for processing. ...
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Rail Business UKNational Rail Contract for Great Western Railway services aims to meet changing needs
UK: FirstGroup’s three-year National Rail Contract to operate Great Western Railway services is designed to accommodate changing needs following the pandemic, with a return to a growth-led approach, progress with MetroWest and a diesel rolling stock review.
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Rail Business UKManaging Director of both Lumo and Hull Trains appointed
UK: FirstGroup has announced the appointment of Martijn Gilbert to the new role of Managing Director of its two open access operators Lumo and Hull Trains.
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Rail Business UKFirstGroup CEO appointed
UK: Graham Sutherland has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of FirstGroup with effect from May 16. He succeeds Matthew Gregory, who stepped down last year following pressure from FirstGroup’s largest shareholder, New York-based hedge fund Coast Capital. Interim Executive Chairman David Martin will resume the ...
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Rail Business UKFirst Rail’s management fee operations meet expectations and open access is ahead
UK: Performance at First Rail’s four management fee-based train operating companies is in line with expectations for the second half of the financial year, while open access operators Hull Trains and Lumo are marginally ahead of expectations, FirstGroup said in a trading update on February 25. ...
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Rail Business UKLumo Managing Director steps down
UK: Helen Wylde stepped down as Managing Director of recently launched London – Edinburgh open access operator Lumo on January 4, in order to take up a position outside the rail industry. Phil Cameron, First Rail’s Commercial Projects Director, will act as Interim Managing Director until ...
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Rail Business UKWest Coast Partnership Development MD to retire
UK: Caroline Donaldson is to retire as Managing Director of West Coast Partnership Development at the end of March, FirstGroup announced on November 25. WCPD is the ‘shadow operator’ for High Speed 2, providing HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport with design and development services ...
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Rail Business UKTicket sales ahead of expectations as low-cost Lumo launches
UK: FirstGroup reports that initial ticket sales at its newly launched London – Edinburgh open access operator Lumo are ahead of expectations, with weekend services proving to be particularly popular. ‘We have always said we intend to reimagine rail travel and we are glad people ...