03 April 2014

Southern managing director Chris Burchell has announced he will be leaving the company to take up the role of MD UK Trains for Arriva. Over the past decade, and under his leadership, the Southern train operating company has been transformed with better quality of service for customers, improved employee engagement, new trains and enhanced station facilities. Southern has pioneered innovation in many areas and recently was the first UK national rail company to integrate smartcards on its network with the London system.

Chris will continue in the role for the coming months and Go-Ahead has started the process to recruit his successor.

David Brown, Go-Ahead Chief Executive, said: "Chris has made a fantastic contribution to Southern and under his leadership the franchise has been transformed. We are sorry to see him leave and wish him the best in his career.

"We are now focusing on the future of Southern as we eagerly await the outcome of the TSGN franchise competition."

Chris Burchell said: "The decision to leave has not been an easy one. Southern has been and will remain a big part of my life and I'm very proud of what we have been able to achieve over the last ten years. I have no doubt Southern will continue to go from strength to strength and continue to improve services for customers."

Notes to editors
• The Department for Transport is expected to announce the successful bidder of the new, combined Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise later this spring.
• Govia - a joint venture between Go-Ahead (65%) and Keolis (35%) - has been shortlisted to bid for the TSGN franchise

ENDS.

For further information, please contact:
The Go-Ahead Group
Holly Birch, Head of Investor Relations 07837 612 661
holly.birch@go-ahead.com
www.go-ahead.com

Go-Ahead
Go-Ahead is a leading UK public transport operator, providing high quality services in the bus and rail sectors. Employing around 23,500 people across the country, over one billion passenger journeys are undertaken on our services each year. We are committed to operating our companies in a safe, socially and environmentally responsible way and are proud to have been reaccredited with Carbon Trust Standard after taking action on climate change. In addition to the travelling public, our customers include the Department for Transport, Transport for London (TfL) and local authorities.

BUS
Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of around 4,400 buses, we carry nearly two million passengers every day. Our operations are focused on high density commuter markets. We have a strong presence in London, with around 24 per cent market share, where we provide regulated services for TfL. We operate deregulated services in Oxford, East Anglia, the South East, Southern and North East England. We also have a small yellow school bus joint venture in North America.

RAIL
The rail operation, Govia, is 65 per cent owned by Go-Ahead and 35 per cent by Keolis. It is the busiest rail operation in the UK, responsible for nearly 30 per cent of all UK passenger rail journeys through its three rail franchises: Southern (which includes the Gatwick Express), Southeastern and London Midland. In December 2009, Southeastern began operating the UK's first high speed domestic rail service between Kent and London, significantly reducing journey times.

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