Trenitalia, a subsidiary of FS, presented in joint venture with the British Firstgroup an expression of interest for the East Midlands franchise and will participate, again in jv, in the tender for the West Coast franchise.
This was announced in a Trenitalia press release.
The joint venture, First Trenitalia East Midlands Rail Limited, is owned 70% by First and 30% by Trenitalia UK.
The tenders are organized by the British Department of Transport.
Management of the franchise in the East Midlands will begin in 2018 and includes improvements on the infrastructure front.
The West Coast franchise includes existing InterCity services between London, Manchester, Chester, Liverpool, Preston, Edinburgh and Glasgow and will be under new management in 2019. It also includes the development and introduction of new High Speed services (High Speed 2, from London to Birmingham, from 2026). The expression of interest is scheduled for April 2017.
