20th January 2012
In this issue:Rail industry news
Bidders for the West Coast Mainline will receive detailed information on the franchise from the Department for Transport next week, the Financial Timessays.
- FirstGroup is under pressure because the government appears keen to attract big foreign operators, the paper says. Keolis and Abellio, offshoots of French and Dutch state railways respectively, are also bidding, as is the incumbent, Virgin Trains.
Network Rail is to be prosecuted over the Cumbrian rail crash at Grayrigg in which one passenger died. BBC NewsFuture coverage from the High Speed 2 announcement:
- A Network Rail/Passenger Focus joint report projects the West Coast Main Line’s expected level of service after HS2 is built. Transport Briefing
- Boris Johnson will demand the Government funds a new Tube line if he is to back fully the high-speed rail project. Evening Standard
- Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan sold a house near the HS2 route less than a month before the government confirmed it would go ahead with the scheme, says The Sunday Times
- Concerns are raised about the role of Wales in plans for HS2. Wales Today
Bosses at Greater Manchester‘s tram network (no PSA with BTPA) apologised to passengers for recent poor service. BBC News The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is planning to move nuclear material from Scotland to England by train. BBC News
New services
Nothing to report this week.
Financial update
Nothing to report this week.
Holding group sharecheck
Summary:
Shares in Stagecoach dropped significantly at the beginning of October after the group decided to pay out a £340m dividend to its shareholders and lost a proporition of its value as a consequence.
FirstGroup shares ralied in early November on the publication of its latest results.
Shares in the Go-Ahead Group rose by almost 5 per cent after the operator of UK trains and buses raised full-year operating profit forecasts on the back of strong passenger growth at its rail franchises.
