FirstGroup plc welcomes the announcement by the Scottish Government that it has successfully pre-qualified for the Caledonian Sleeper franchise competition.
Commenting, Vernon Barker, First’s UK Rail Managing Director, said:
"We are delighted to have pre-qualified. We have great strength and expertise in Scotland as the current operators of ScotRail, which is carrying more passengers than ever before whilst seeing record high customer satisfaction scores. ScotRail is also the current Scottish Public Transport Operator of the Year. We have great experience in close partnership working with Transport Scotland and Network Rail, delivering electrification to the Paisley Canal line in just four months and at less than half the cost of the original estimate. We look forward to building on our position as the UK’s only operator of sleeper trains and submitting a competitive proposal which meet the needs of customers and taxpayers for this exciting new chapter in Scotland’s railway."