Stagecoach : Rail passengers in London and Stevenage set to benefit from new InterCity East Coast franchise

27 Nov 2014

• Stagecoach and Virgin to run new franchise from March 2015
• Direct weekday connection between London and Sunderland and improved connections to Scotland
• More and faster services to the north
• Better, more personalised travel for passengers and investment in rail employees
• New technology to improve customer experience on-board and at stations

Passengers in London and Stevenage are set to benefit better northbound connections and faster journeys following the Government's announcement today (27 November 2014) that the new InterCity East Coast ("ICEC") franchise would be awarded to Stagecoach and Virgin.

The new franchise will bring major benefits to passengers whilst taxpayers will benefit from significant increases in premium payments to Government. The franchise will start in March 2015 and run until 31 March 2023, with the option for a one-year extension at the Department for Transport's discretion. The franchise has been awarded to Inter City Railways Limited, Stagecoach's venture with Virgin.

The extension of a London to Newcastle service will provide a direct weekday connection to Sunderland in each direction from December 2015, and an additional Saturday service will run between London and Leeds. A second daily London-Stirling service will be launched from December 2015, and from May 2016, another four direct services will run to Edinburgh every weekday, providing improved connections to Scotland.

The major timetable improvements in 2019 and 2020 will deliver faster journey times to Leeds and Edinburgh, with journey times of 2 hours to Leeds and 4 hours to Edinburgh on the fastest services.  From May 2019 there will also be seven daily services between London, Stevenage and Lincoln, and a direct weekday service to Huddersfield. From May 2020 there will be six direct weekday services between London and Middlesbrough, and there will also be a second direct weekday service to Sunderland. From the launch of the full Intercity Express Programme (IEP) in 2020, daily departures from London Kings Cross to the north will increase by a third.

At Stevenage, where connections with cross London Thameslink services will be available, there will continue to be two inter city services per hour on weekdays, and from May 2019 this will be extended to weekends.

More than £25m is planned for investment in stations and car parks on the route delivering major benefits for customers.  A new open plan customer zone will be launched at London Kings Cross and Smart card ticketing will be available between London, Stevenage and Peterborough.

The franchise is set to see more than £140 million invested to deliver a new service designed around the customer. Trains will operate under the 'Virgin Trains East Coast' brand. Highlights for passengers include:

• New connections and direct services - direct weekday service between London and Sunderland from December 2015, improved connections to Scotland, a direct weekday service to Huddersfield from May 2019, and from May 2020 direct weekday services to Middlesbrough and more direct daily services to Lincoln.
• More and faster services - from the launch of the new IEP programme in 2020, daily departures from Kings Cross to increase by a third and many northbound services will see faster journey times
• New trains - 65 new 'Super Express' trains from 2018 with an early multi-million-pound train refresh programme for existing fleet
• Station enhancements - new open plan customer zone at Kings Cross and more ticket vending machines
• Investment in people - a fresh approach to recruitment, including new apprenticeships and the introduction of a new National Academy for Rail Professional Education with bases in York, Derby and London. Major investment in staff development and training, a new innovation council and giving employees ways to own a share of the business through employee share incentive arrangements
• Better value fares - 10% cut in Standard Anytime fares on long-distance journeys to and from London and Stevenage
• New technology - new website, smartphone apps, electronic information posters at all stations, portable technology for staff and free WiFi on trains
• Personalised travel - journeys built around individual customers, with at-seat food ordering, simpler ticket purchase and reservations, new Nectar loyalty programme
• Improved customer rights and support - new Passengers' Charter with easier and faster compensation for customers through automated delay repay service; commitment to improved satisfaction scores with new independent passenger surveys, benchmarks and published results to drive satisfaction with stations, trains and customer service; and a dedicated customer and communities improvement fund
• Community engagement - apprenticeships for young people, graduate and ex-offenders programmes, dedicated communities fund, support for small businesses and regeneration in disadvantaged areas.

Martin Griffiths, Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group, said: "Passengers using the East Coast mainline will benefit from hundreds of millions of pounds of infrastructure investment and service improvements over the next decade. Together with Virgin, our innovative plans will give customers new services, faster and more frequent trains, and easier, more personalised journeys.

"We will be investing in the committed East Coast people who will be joining our team, as well as delivering major programmes to help young people, communities and small businesses along one of Britain's most important routes. We will match world-class customer service by giving a big boost to taxpayers with increased payments to Government."

Patrick McCall, Senior Partner, Virgin Group, said, "We're delighted to have been chosen to run the East Coast franchise. Our long term partnership with Stagecoach has seen a revolution in customer service standards, great product innovation, reduced journey times and improved timetables on the West Coast mainline. We plan to deliver similar success on the East Coast and are looking forward to working with the team there to build on their achievements.

"Our partnership will concentrate on areas for which Virgin is famous, such as looking after our customers and our people. We have a great opportunity to blend the successes of the East Coast and the West Coast lines to create a great experience for all. Together with these new ideas and initiatives, passengers will begin to see those Virgin touches on each and every journey."

Full details of plans to transform services for InterCity East Coast passengers are available here: http://stagecoach.com/media/news-releases/2014/2014-11-27.aspx

ENDS

For further information, please contact: Stagecoach Group plc on www.stagecoachgroup.com

Media

Notes to Editors

• Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, continental Europe, the United States and Canada. The Group employs around 35,000 people, and operates bus, coach, train, and tram services.
• Stagecoach is one of the UK's biggest bus and coach operators with around 8,300 buses and coaches. Around 2.8 million passenger journeys are made on Stagecoach's buses every day on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The Group's business includes major city bus operations in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. Low-cost coach service, megabus.com, operates a network of inter-city services across the UK and continental Europe.
• Stagecoach is a major UK rail operator, running the South West Trains, Island Line and East Midlands Trains networks. It has a 49% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast rail franchise.
• Stagecoach also operates the Supertram light rail network in Sheffield.
• In North America, Stagecoach operates around 2,400 buses and coaches in the United States and Canada. Megabus.com links around 130 key locations in North America. Stagecoach is also involved in operating commuter, transit, contracted, charter and sightseeing services.

• Virgin is a leading international investment group and one of the world's most recognised and respected brands.
• Conceived in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group has gone on to grow successful businesses in sectors including mobile telephony, travel & transportation, financial services, leisure & entertainment and health & wellness.
• It has a 51% shareholding in Virgin Rail Group, which operates the West Coast rail franchise.

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