After over 20 years running the entire of the south-western train network, Stagecoach has lost a bid to maintain hold of the franchise and is being taken over jointly by the Chinese metro company MTR and FirstGroup on August 20th 2017. This includes lines such as the Exeter-London Waterloo line.
The chief executive of Stagecoach, Martin Griffiths stated: “We are proud to have operated the network under the South West Trains brand for more than 20 years and we are disappointed that we have been unsuccessful in our bid for the new franchise.
Over the past two decades, we have delivered real improvements for our customers right across the network.
Commuters should think of this change as positive due to a promised initial investment from MTR of £1.2 billion promising 750 new carriages, a faster and more reliable service. This includes reduced travel time to London, including 14 minutes quicker from Weymouth and 10 minutes faster from Exeter.
The new franchise will see improvements such as Wi-Fi at all stations and on most trains, refurbished trains with new charging sockets, upgraded toilets, new seat covers and much more.
The CEO of MTR, Jeremy Long, said: “Together we will deliver a major programme of upgrades, including improvements to both rail services and customer experience, for passengers travelling across the South Western network.”
Despite the fact that Stagecoach will no longer run the south-western network, commuters should not be afraid by distancing themselves from the status-quo but instead should look forward to a range of exciting new changes and improvements in the near future.
