FIRSTGROUP and a joint venture between Stagecoach and Abellio have been short-listed to take over the new East Anglia rail franchise.
The Scottish-headquartered companies are joined by National Express in the running to operate trains in the east of England region from October 2016, the department of transport has announced.
Abellio has run the east of England franchise, which carries 354,000 passengers a day on five routes across the region, since February 2012.
The short-listed companies will now work with the government to develop their proposals, before being invited to tender in August.
They have been asked by the department of transport to demonstrate how they will improve the region's railways, including by reducing journey times to London, providing more reliable services and better connections.
Stagecoach has teamed up with Abellio, the Dutch company which began running the ScotRail network in April, to bid for the franchise under the Abellio East Anglia Limited (AEAL) joint venture.
Perth-based Stagecoach has a 40 per cent share in Anglia Rail Holdings Limited (ARHL), wholly owned by AEAL, with Abellio holding 60 per cent of ARHL.
Aberdeen-based FirstGroup failed to win contracts to continue three rail networks last year, including the ScotRail franchise. It also lost out on bids for new franchises.
However it secured a one-year extension to its TransPennine Express franchise, and made the short-list to bid for the next term of the franchise. And it announced in April that it had won an extension to its Great Western franchise south of the Border until at least the spring of 2019.
National Express is a former operator of trains in the East Anglia region.
Shares in FirstGroup closed up 3.1p at 117.5p, while Stagecoach shares edged up 3.8p to 408.6p.
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