§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the award of the franchises for the first passenger rail services will be announced. [5950]
§ Sir George YoungThe franchising director has announced the award of the first three passenger rail franchises. The South West Trains franchise has been won by Stagecoach Holdings plc. The Great Western franchise has been won by Great Western Holdings Ltd., a management and employee team backed by First Bus, 3i Intermediate Capital Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland. The London, Tilbury and Southend franchise has been won by Enterprise Rail Ltd., a management and employee team backed by 3i and Gresham Trust.
All three franchises are committing themselves to significant improvements in services and have imaginative plans for developing their businesses. I look forward to the first franchised services operating in the new year and to passengers experiencing for themselves the benefits which privatisation will bring to the railway.