l What will change?
Passengers can expect to see little change from December 10 apart from new branding on the train fleet. FirstGroup will inherit Virgin Trains' staff and timetable, including a new hourly Glasgow-London service introduced as a "legacy" of the incumbent, and has promised to maintain the workforce of nearly 3000, which includes 260 people in Scotland.
More than 30 minutes could be shaved off the average journey times making it possible to travel between Glasgow and London Euston in around four hours and 15 minutes by 2014. It is dependent on approval through the industry timetabling process being granted and the purchase of an additional 11 tilting, electric Pendolino trains for use on the line between Edinburgh and Birmingham.
Other changes include more at-seat dining and a change to seat configuration. However, First has denied allegations it plans to scrap the buffet car or cram more people into narrower seats.
l Will fares go up?
Yes, but not any more than the rate of Government-regulated fares, which are set increase by 3% above inflation in January.
There is also a sweetener of 15% off all Standard Anytime tickets, though this will only affect a relatively small proportion of business passengers in the south of England and the Midlands.
l Will there be cuts?
First said it would seek to achieve 3%-4% efficiency, equating to around £25 million a year – less than the £45m cuts contained in the Virgin Trains bid. It pledged investment of £350m in the contract's first five years, saying it will embark on a growth strategy.
l Can First deliver more passengers?
First insists its estimate of delivering 10.4% in passenger revenue is in line with that achieved by Virgin.
Critics point out the latter benefited from a £9 billion infrastructure investment which allowed it to double the number of services it offers. By contrast, First is hoping to get more people to travel on less-busy trains to improve efficiency.
l What if it goes wrong?
If First does not meet its targets, the likely outcome is it will default on its payments worth £5.3bn to the Department for Transport (DfT) and walk away from the contract, paying a penalty of around £145m.
Virgin, by contrast, had offered to make a penalty payment of £105m, possibly reflecting the higher risk involved in the First bid, though it is not clear if the DfT would have accepted this.
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